NEWS SPECIAL REPORT
Riviera eyes growth R
Operator hosts agents at event to celebrate its 40th birthday. Josie Klein reports from Paris
iviera Travel has pledged to double its passenger numbers by 2030. The operator currently caters
for just under 100,000 passengers a year, but is aiming to increase that to 200,000 by the end of the decade, according to chief executive Phil Hullah.
Speaking to agents and media
at Riviera Travel’s 40th birthday celebrations in Paris, Hullah said he sees a “huge growth opportunity” in the touring side of the business, as well as on European and long-haul rivers. “Taking a bit more market
share in the areas that we currently operate in will fuel huge market growth,” he said. “It’s not always about introducing new product offers, but about growing our current river cruise, short-haul and long-haul tour offerings.” He added: “The biggest passenger growth opportunity in the short-term will be in short-haul tours.” Outlining his plan to achieve the
target, Hullah said the operator has set three benchmarks which it will use to hold itself accountable: extending
24 4 APRIL 2024
customer reach; evolving the holiday experience and proposition; and focusing on guest experience. “If we get those three things right, the business will grow and we will prosper,” he added.
SUPPORTING AGENTS Vicky Billing, head of trade partnerships for the UK and Ireland, told Travel Weekly the operator is “obsessed” with its trade partners, and focusing on supporting agents would help drive growth in passenger numbers. She said expanding the number of agents Riviera Travel works with would be “key” to meeting the 200,000-passenger target. “We currently take fewer than
100,000 passengers away a year so the only way we’re going to more than double that by 2030 is by working with the trade,” she said. “We want to be in a position
where we can work with every agent, which is why we have expanded our trade sales team and invested in our trade support team. “We need the trade to support us so we have to support them.”
Trade sales ‘can double again’
Hullah predicts trade sales could double in the coming years as he hailed a hugely successful wave period. He said 2024 had got off to a “flying start”, with trade sales up 52% year on year and 2025 “looking even more spectacular”. He explained trade sales had increased from 15% of the operator’s overall business to 25% in the “past couple of years”. Asked whether he would be happy for trade sales to
account for an even larger share of Riviera’s business compared with direct, he said he was indifferent. “Revenue from the trade channel has doubled in the
past few years and it can double again, so trade sales might increase as a proportion of our business,” he added. “I don’t mind what the proportion of trade versus direct sales is as I want both to grow.”
Phil Hullah 2026 range set for early release
Riviera Travel will release its 2026 programme in September, two months earlier than it traditionally launches itineraries for two years ahead. Vicky Billing said the operator was seeing “huge interest” in 2025 river
cruises and tours and was now looking ahead to 2026. She said the operator wants to “capitalise” on
those customers who want to book in advance, be it due to budgetary or planning reasons. “We normally launch a two-years-out programme
Vicky Billing with Riviera trading director Stuart Milan
in November, but we are going to bring our 2026 launch date forward to capitalise on interest,” she said. “Our competitors might launch early, so there’s no reason why we shouldn’t do the same.”
travelweekly.co.uk
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