Age needs to ‘stop being a focus’ for agents selling river

Agents need to stop focusing on age and instead on onboard experiences and inclusions when selling river cruise, industry leaders have said.

Several panellists at Clia RiverView in Budapest revealed the average age of river cruise passengers was coming down and emphasised clients were “more active” than they used to be.

Nicki Tempest- Mitchell, managing director at Barrhead Travel Group, said: “We should stop trying to focus on age and we should start to focus on the experience that the customers will get when they’re on board.”

More: ‘There’s room for all of us in river’, says Celebrity Cruises boss

She said the average age of those booking river cruises with the agency last year was about 60.

Stuart Milan, vice-president of international sales and trading director at Riviera Travel, echoed this as he said the average age for both its river cruise and touring brands was getting younger.

He explained: “That is coming down now because the onboard experience is changing.

“We are having to change because clients are more active now. Most river ships will have bikes and e-bikes on board. There is kayaking, hiking and more active tours as well.”

Jonathan Davies, head of sales at Scenic and Emerald Cruises, agreed that “a higher percentage” of customers were requesting more-active tours, and particularly new cruisers that have come from city breaks.

He said the luxury brand was “seeing value” from customers who did city breaks or five-star all-inclusive holidays and stressed the importance of agents talking about river cruise inclusions to clients, from excursions to “basics” like food and drink.

“It is a higher price point potentially than an ocean cruise or holiday, but it is about knowing what’s included and shouting about those added value benefits,” Davies explained.

Milan called the inclusions “a massive benefit”, especially for city break customers who would most likely spend 150% of a river cruise cost trying to independently visit three capital cities on one trip.

Tempest-Mitchell added she had seen “a shift” from city break and land-based customers to river as they were wanting to “try a new experience”.

Mainstream ocean cruise customers were also increasingly booking river cruises in the last year with Barrhead Travel, she added.