NEWS SPECIAL REPORT Clia UK & Ireland held its first annual River Cruise Review this week. By Harry Kemble


River cruise market tops 200,000 for the first time


The number of Britons taking a river cruise rocketed by 21% last year to surpass 200,000 a year for the first time, according to Clia UK & Ireland figures.


The cruise line association said 210,400 Britons went on a river cruise last year, up from 174,400 in 2016 and 129,700 in 2012. The figures take into account


sailings on non-Clia member lines, such as Viking Cruises. Clia released last year’s figure


at its 2017 River Cruise Review in London, the first time it has held such an event for the river sector. While the river cruise sector


remains dwarfed by the ocean sector – last year 1,959,000 Britons sailed at sea – Andy Harmer, Clia UK & Ireland director, said the future looked positive for the faster-growing river sector.


Ten years on


“About 10 years ago Clia did not have any river cruise members,” he said. “River cruises bring different


“There has been a huge amount of investment in new ships and ports of call”


experiences to those on the ocean. “There has been a huge amount of


investment in new ships and ports of call in both ocean and river.” Giles Hawke, Clia UK & Ireland’s


deputy chairman, added: “What’s driven this growth? It’s the money that has been put into new ships that have come into the market.” Eleven river cruise vessels were launched in 2017, 10 ships are set to launch this year and eight vessels are already slated for delivery next year. “It is not just one river cruise


line driving this growth,” Hawke said. “All lines are contributing.” Passengers also cruised for


longer last year. The average duration of a river cruise rose


from 6.7 days in 2016 to 7.7 days in 2017, an increase which Hawke described as “significant”.


Destinations


There were mixed fortunes in southeast Asia. Passenger numbers on the Mekong grew by 8.2% but carryings on the Irrawaddy decreased by 8.8% as military unrest hit Myanmar. The Nile saw a spike in UK passenger numbers, increasing by more than 14% on 2016. Passenger numbers in India


grew even faster, up 27% last year. Hawke said he expected lines to offer more waterways in the country in the coming years.


River sector has plenty of scope for growth – Hawke


Clia UK & Ireland’s deputy chairman says there is “plenty of scope” for more growth in the river cruise sector. Giles Hawke predicted that,


as more ships sail on rivers in North America, the number of British river cruise passengers would shoot up. He also suggested river cruising appealed to new-to- cruise passengers because of the variety of ports on offer, in contrast to the mainstream ocean sector which has a focus on key ports such as Barcelona, Venice and Dubrovnik. “We are seeing river cruise


become a sector in its own right,” Hawke said. “I think there is plenty of


scope to keep growing. “A lot of it comes down


to infrastructure. Over time we will see river cruise lines look farther afield but, also, destinations will invest to attract cruise lines.” Last year 180,000 Britons sailed on European rivers, up from about 90,000 in 2012, Hawke added.


Clia said 62% of British river cruise passengers sailed on central or western European rivers last year, but the fastest- growing regions were in eastern and southern Europe on the Danube and Russian waterways. In Russia,


British


river cruise passenger numbers surged by nearly 70%


Andy Harmer


Bagan, Myanmar, and the Irrawaddy River


Giles Hawke


compared with 2016.


12 travelweekly.co.uk 6 September 2018


PICTURE: SHUTTERSTOCK


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