AmaWaterways co-founder Kristin Karst has highlighted growing demand for exotic destinations, with “many beautiful rivers” in the world for operators to consider in future.
Speaking in an interview at the Clia RiverView Conference in Budapest, Karst said UK agents were increasingly looking at rivers beyond the most popular as “the mindset of clients” had changed post-pandemic to prioritise experiences over price.
This interest was reflected in a pre-arrival survey of delegates by Clia which found 36% of agents were looking to “prioritise the need for training on exotic rivers”.
While Karst revealed Europe still made up 90% of the company’s business, she said new customers often start their river cruising in the continent before going on to more-exotic destinations.
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She highlighted the first of two new ships operating seven-night cruises on the Magdalena River in Colombia had launched a few weeks ago.
Karst explained: “Colombia has been cleaning up and is one of the most beautiful countries in the world.
“Younger people are a little bit more confident [with going to the destination], while older people need more peace of mind and to know AmaWaterways is going is definitely something they trust is safe.”
Jamie Loizou, AmaWaterways UK and Ireland managing director, agreed demand for exotic destinations has been growing, particularly for the Mekong in the last year.
He said: “We are seeing Colombia in huge demand, and we’ve brought our seasons forward on the Chobe and the Mekong.
“The Mekong is absolutely trending and for me is a bit of a headache because availability is quite difficult.”
He stressed the need to book further out for these destinations, particularly for the Mekong, ahead of more capacity being added next year.
When asked for other destinations AmaWaterways might consider exploring in future, Karst said there are “many beautiful rivers out there” and particularly “more rivers in South America”.
However, she added she wished the Congo and Myanmar were viable options for the operator.
She explained: “[AmaWaterways president] Rudi’s dream was always to finish his legacy in the Congo, but I don’t think he can realise this, as we know it’s not safe.”
However, the line’s sailings on the Chobe River currently offers passengers gorilla-watching experiences in Rwanda which is close by, she said.
Karst added: “That’s a very unique destination [on the Chobe in Botswana]. We are very lucky to be there with the Zambeze Queen as nobody is allowed to build a new boat there on that river.”
She also said she would love to have a ship return to Myanmar once it is “a peaceful country again”, as AmaWaterways had a presence there between 2014 and 2017.
However, Karst stressed that she “would be foolish” to talk about launching on any new rivers this year.
She said the line’s UK total sales for all destinations were up 35% last year compared to 2023, and this year was “going to already be even more than that”, which she attributed to building relationships with agents.
Pictured: Kristin Karst speaks to Lucy Huxley at Clia RiverView in Budapest