2020 trends
River cruise is booming, but it’s not just about passenger numbers. As the
market continues to mature, so too do its customers’ demands, and lines are adapting their offerings to suit, bringing out
new products that put flexibility, freedom, sustainability and destination immersion at the core. To find out more, we joined a round-table attended by representatives from some of the leading lines, who revealed their insights and explained how they’re shaping their product to suit a new kind of cruiser.
EXOTIC ADVENTURES When it comes to destination, the lines were almost unanimous that long-haul was seeing the biggest growth. “We’re booming away on long-haul - the Mekong is doing
well, India is doing well and Egypt has gone through the roof,” said Chris Townson, managing director of Uniworld. AmaWaterways’ managing director, Stuart Perl, also pointed to the Mekong, while Dave Chidley, head of sales at Fred Holidays, said Asia on the whole was storming ahead. “At Fred River Cruises, we manage Pandaw, and we’re seeing that Asia is becoming massive,” he said. But it’s the Nile that’s really swelling. Fred River Cruises
has taken on Sanctuary Retreats as a general sales agent to meet soaring demand for Egypt; CroisiEurope is chartering additional ships on the Nile and the Ganges next year; and AmaWaterways will launch a ship in the destination in 2021.
travelweekly.co.uk/cruise
CITY-BREAK ITINERARIES
While the biggest growth might be in long-haul, it’s short-haul that’s still taking the largest slice of the pie, according to John Fair, CroisiEurope’s UK sales director. “The percentage growth is in long-haul, but the volume of passengers is still clearly driven towards Europe,” he said. “What’s interesting is that we’re seeing people who’ve been on coach tours now switching to river as an alternative.” In terms of duration, Lucia Rowe, A-Rosa’s managing director for the UK and Ireland, said it was the shorter, city-focused itineraries that were faring the best. “We offer three and four-night cruises into major cities to
tap into the city-break trend, and we’re seeing lots of demand for this type of product,” she said. Riviera Travel national sales manager Thomas Morgan agreed. “We’re also seeing more demand for city-break trips,” he said. “We’ve introduced a Vienna itinerary that spends three days in the city, and that’s selling really well,” He added that Christmas markets cruises were also booming - bucking a slowdown reported by some of the other lines for the end of the year, in response to Brexit concerns.
ACTIVE AND WELLNESS ITINERARIES
When it comes to types of itinerary and onboard experiences, lines across the board agreed that health, wellness and activity were the buzzwords of the moment. Riviera introduced Walk & Discover itineraries to three
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