European river cruise specialist Viva Cruises has joined Clia, the cruise trade body, to raise awareness of its brand in the trade.
Viva Cruises was founded in 2018 as the first in-house tour operator of Swiss shipping company, Scylla AG.
The company now has an eight-ship fleet sailing on major European rivers, including Viva One and Viva Two – its two own build ships. A third new-build, Viva Enjoy, will launch in September 2024.
Clia said the cruise firm will benefit from the association’s “extensive” travel agent network across the UK and Ireland, events and resources about river cruising.
These include webinars, podcasts, online resources and flagship events such as Clia conference in May and Clia’s RiverView conference, which will be in Amsterdam next year.
Clia UK & Ireland managing director Andy Harmer said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Viva Cruises to Clia, and look forward to supporting them as they develop relationships with the trade across Europe.
“River cruise’s popularity continues to grow apace, so this is the perfect time for Viva Cruises to further support agent know-how of their brand.”
Andrea Kruse, chief operating officer of Viva Cruises, added: “There is no better time to join Clia than now, when Viva Cruises is celebrating its fifth anniversary.
“Viva Cruises has a truly differentiated product for the European traveller, offering pleasant all-inclusive cruises to some of Europe’s most popular destinations – with a laid-back atmosphere and high-quality food and wine.
“Our main objective for the coming months is focused on the trade: we want more tour operators to feature and sell our products to consumers; so joining Clia was a natural step for us.”
Pictured: Viva Two