NEWS CONFERENCE REPORT


Clia River Cruise Conference 2018: More than 270 delegates hear about market consolidation, passenger targets and baby boomers. Harry Kemble reports from Paris


P RIS


RIVER CRUISE CONFERENCE


 2018


Giles Hawke, Avalon Waterways; Paul Melinis, APT; John Fair, CroisiEurope; and Lucy Huxley, Travel Weekly


River cruise bosses resist demand for bigger vessels


eading cruise figures dismissed pressure to make river vessels “bigger and better” and insisted that fuel efficiency would dictate ship design in the years ahead.


Speaking at the Clia River Cruise


Conference, Giles Hawke, Clia UK’s deputy chairman, said focusing on ship design was a “red herring”. Hawke, Paul Melinis, of APT, and


CroisiEurope’s John Fair all agreed that the ability of river ships to dock in the heart of cities was what appealed to passengers. Melinis said: “There will always be demand to be bigger and better [but] the beauty about river cruising is that we can get very close to the city centre – that is not going to change.” Hawke added: “You can get into places that are tiny villages. Size [of ships] is a red herring. Changes in the future are going to be around fuel efficiency. Fair said design changes would


revolve around ships’ engines and how vessels sail down rivers. Low water levels, caused by soaring summer temperatures,


12travelweekly.co.uk15 November 2018


remain a problem for river cruise operators. Last month, APT was forced to cancel four cruises sailing between Amsterdam and Budapest due to water levels being just 72cm in some places. APT chief commercial officer Debra Fox said contingency plans


Clia attendees had the chance to tour six river ships in Paris


“The beauty about river cruising is that we can get very close to the city centre”


drawn up in the event of low water levels worked “99% of the time”. Hawke pointed out that high water levels can also be an issue, with ships unable to sail under some bridges. “Conditions can change almost


overnight,” he said. “We do not look at it a week ahead, we wait until the last minute [before changing an itinerary].” On the issue of single-use plastics, Melinis admitted river cruise lines had been slower than ocean lines to decide on an approach, but added: “We are working on it.”


Egypt and Russia ‘could ease river traffic in Europe’


An increase in itineraries in Russia and Egypt could help ease congestion on European rivers, it has been claimed. According to the latest Clia


figures, 62% of Britons taking river cruise holidays sailed on central or western European rivers in 2017. But Russia was among


the fastest-growing regions globally last year, with UK passenger numbers on its waterways up by nearly 70%. And in Egypt, carryings on the Nile were up 14% on 2016. The Nile is not included in


the areas of Egypt to which the UK Foreign Office advises against travel. John Fair, CroisiEurope’s UK


sales director, told delegates at the conference: “People are looking for that security. If you can do that, and put capacity on other rivers, that takes the pressure off. The vast majority [of capacity] is in Europe.” APT’s Paul Melinis said of cruises on the Nile: “There are no crowds. I don’t think there is a better time to go in your lifetime.”


SHUTTERSTOCK


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96