RIVERview CL IA C O NF ERENCE 2024


CONFERENCE Clia RiverView Conference 2024: More than 500 delegates attend event to l


Themed cruises highlight ‘incredible value’ of sector


M


atching a customer’s interests to a river cruise is “key” to persuading them to


take their first sailing, operators told agent delegates. The value of agents getting to


know their customers and discovering their hobbies and passions to help match them with a themed sailing was highlighted by Lucia Rowe, A-Rosa River Cruises’ managing director for the UK and Ireland. She said themed cruises show


the “incredible value” of the river cruise sector, particularly to the new-to-cruise market, and it was up to agents to show customers “there is a river cruise for everyone”. “Themed cruises are huge,” said


Rowe. “Offering food, wine and active participation cruises is tapping into people’s hobbies. “People are interested in so much


more than their work and collapsing on the beach – they love spending


This is a product that aims to please city breakers, adventurers, golfers and people who love to see the world


their time in a meaningful way. “This is a product that aims to


please city breakers, adventurers, explorers, golf lovers, runners, movers and people who love to see the world.” She added: “Research shows


people are moving away from beach holidays because they are moving to city breaks and every single one of you [agents] has customers like this on file; it’s just about doing that matching exercise and understanding which river cruise is right for which customer.” Her views were echoed by Nick


Hughes, Scenic and Emerald Cruises’


sales, strategy and partnerships director for the UK and Ireland. He urged agents to use themed


cruises to “hook” customers who had aligning interests, saying themed cruises are a valuable way to captivate the new-to-cruise market. “Themed cruises attract first-


time cruisers and, once they cruise on river, they come back,” he said. “It’s important for us to look


at the interests of our potential customers and to tempt them on our product by trying to encapsulate those interests.” Phil Hullah, Riviera Travel chief


executive, said the operator “hasn’t themed much” in the past, but had added eight themed sailings to its 2025 programme to target the new-to-cruise market. “We haven’t done much


theming before but we’ve got some in 2025 as that could be a growth area for us,” he said.


‘Older people are more active than those 30 years ago’


Older people are no longer ‘old’ and it is up to agents to explain river cruising suits adventurous travellers of all ages, according to A-Rosa’s Lucia Rowe. She said the preconception that river cruising is


only for elderly people remains the “biggest barrier” to accessing new passengers. Rowe urged agents to explain that although the age


demographic for river cruising has remained similar over the past 30 years, the physical health and desires of those people have not, and river cruise lines are catering for people who are “young at heart”. “The biggest barrier to river cruise we hear is people


saying they’re not old enough to take one, but times have moved on,” said Rowe. “Old people now are not the same as old people from 30 years ago. They are young at heart, physically active and inquisitive.


10 21 MARCH 2024 Lucia Rowe “These are the perfect customers for river cruising


and, once they’ve taken that first step on board, they will keep coming back.”


Trade media partner Clia to beef up trade suppo


Clia is expanding its river cruise content with online tools, training and events to support agents new to the sector. The association is adding a virtual


RiverView learning course to its website which will take viewers on a river cruise sailing from Amsterdam to Bucharest, focusing on both the Rhine and Danube experiences. From April, Clia will add virtual


tours of river cruise ships to its ship tour library, which currently only contains tours of ocean ships. Events scheduled include a


first dedicated river cruise dinner


Nick Hughes


This year’s conference hosted more than five time as many delegates as the inaugural event 10 years ago


travelweekly.co.uk


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