Uniworld Boutique River Cruises hosted 70 agents on board a Golden Eagle Luxury Trains journey at Clia RiverView to demonstrate its growing focus on extended rail and river journeys.
Chris Townson, managing director for UK and Europe, told Travel Weekly the luxury river cruise line “wanted to change things up” with a first for the conference by organising a three-hour round trip from Nyugati Railways Station in Budapest for some of its top sellers.
Agents were treated to a champagne reception, a brass band performance and a tour of the en-suite cabins, two restaurants and bar, culminating in a three-course meal.
Speaking to agents on board, Townson said: “We did a survey about three years ago of our loyal guests and 60% said they wanted to do rail travel as a priority.
“We have that audience and, without a doubt, you have that audience of customers who want more immersive, longer journeys.”
Townson said departures of these extended combined river and rail itineraries would “grow and grow” into 2027, with 11 itineraries with Golden Eagle Luxury Trains and six with the Maharajah Express scheduled for next year, a significant increase on from previous years where there were two to four departures with each train operator.
Uniworld partners with Golden Eagle Luxury Trains on European itineraries, including its Istanbul to Paris route, and with the Maharajah Express for trips in India.
Speaking on stage earlier at the conference, Townson revealed extended journeys now make up a third of Uniworld’s business after “a post-Covid boom” in people looking for bucket-list itineraries in both European and long-haul destinations.
Townson, who has a background as a long-haul tour operator, said he saw “an opportunity” to grow these longer combined offerings as it was “much easier” for agents to buy all-in-one packages, rather than dynamically putting them together themselves.
Speaking about the train journey, Travel Village Group chief executive Phil Nuttall said it was “experiential travel on another level”.
He added: “Not knowing what to expect, I was very impressed with the passion of this truly unique three generation family business.
“There’s a real synergy between both our businesses, and I can see why Chris [Townson] and Ellen [Bettridge] have partnered with Tim [Littler] and his family.
“As someone who has a real passion for train travel, this is now something I have experienced and am now in a position to communicate to my sales and marketing team.”
Ellie Fowler, owner and director of The Travel Business, said: “The Golden Eagle was incredible. A real treat to go and see it in person and experience it for myself.
“A luxurious bucket list experience and the food, service and train itself were all fantastic.”
Panache Cruises senior partnerships and marketing director Anna Perrott said: “We’re always looking for ways to differentiate ourselves in the market and give something a little different for our customers.
“[The experience was] really quirky, luxurious and a perfect way to see multiple destinations twinned with a Uniworld cruise. We’re really excited to be selling the product and we know our customers will love it.”
