River cruises are not “a holiday of choice” for most agents which is a barrier to the industry’s growth, according to a top agency chief.
Speaking on a panel of industry leaders at Clia RiverView in Budapest, Barrhead Travel managing director Nicki Tempest-Mitchell said river cruising was “still not top of mind” for agents or consumers.
She said: “The feedback from our people is it wasn’t a holiday of choice for them, and I think that’s been one of the barriers for this industry.
“We are still finding that from a consumer point of view, it’s not top of mind, so the reliance on the agents having the knowledge is still there for this sector.”
According to a pre-arrival survey of delegates by Clia, 45% of attendees had never been on a river ship before, 25% were brand new to selling river cruise and 14% had been selling it for under a year.
Tempest-Mitchell said Barrhead Travel had grown its river sales by more than 70% year on year by putting “a strong focus” on training and electing river cruise champions in the business.
She urged members of the trade to take up opportunities from cruise lines and Clia to boost their knowledge and attend ship visits to be able to better sell river.