Three of the 10 modules of the Association of Cruise Experts’ (Ace) new training programme are being devoted to river cruising as growth in the sector continues to outstrip ocean cruising.
The training, due out by the end of the year, will cover the river cruise experience, the operators and vessels, and give agents information about the rivers themselves.
Agents will have to take all three units to complete their 30-module training ‘journey’ and achieve their Ace accreditation.
Ace director Andy Harmer (pictured) said: “It is the most in-depth training on river cruising we have ever done and it is because of the growth in this sector.
“The number of Britons taking a river cruise in 2011 was up 48% on 2008 and equivalent to the population of Exeter.
“If there is resistance to selling river cruising, it’s because agents don’t know the product.
“All the information is out there; it’s up to Ace to present it in an easy-to-understand format.”
Harmer said one of the 10 advanced training courses Ace is launching in 2013 will be on river cruising – agents have to complete four of these to reach ambassador status – and Ace is hosting river cruise webinars.
It is also in talks with Uniworld, APT and Amadeus by Lüftner Cruises about developing their training programmes.
Some 120 agents attended the Ace River Cruise Expo in Amsterdam last weekend to take part in conference sessions, a trade fair and tours of six river cruise vessels.