AmaWaterways has reported its best month for UK sales in the line’s history, beating the previous record set in January.
UK and Europe sales director Andrea Stafford told Travel Weekly the line had a “phenomenal” March, which “just surpassed” the bookings taken in January, with sales up 72% year on year.
Stafford, who joined AmaWaterways from Scenic and Emerald Cruises in October, praised the trade for its performance, saying the majority of the line’s bookings come via agents, and they have shown “incredible support” of the brand during the wave period.
More: AmaWaterways recruits new business development manager
She also highlighted the Clia Riverview conference, which took place in Amsterdam from March 11-13, as a reason for strong sales, saying the line had engaged with new agents at the event who had gone on to take bookings later in the month.
“March was just amazing and as we don’t have a direct proposition, we know it was our agent partners who were securing the bookings so we are so grateful to them for their hard work,” she said.
“We have daily booking reports so we’ve seen new agents who have contributed to our March sales, some of whom we know we met at Riverview which is amazing.
“Having a ship at the conference allowed agents to come on board and, as we know, seeing is believing, and it’s great to see agents believing in our product and securing sales.”
The majority of bookings taken in March were for 2024 sailings, Stafford said, adding: “Since the pandemic, the river cruise sector has been experiencing a lates market and we are seeing bookings for travel in the same year a lot more”.
However, she said sales for 2025 departures were “coming through more frequently”, and AmaWaterways is trading ahead of where it predicted it would be, led by long-haul bookings for Mekong and Nile cruises.
Stafford went on to praise the line’s decision to offer flight-inclusive cruise packages as standard pricing for UK guests, saying the feedback from agents has been “fantastic”.
“Agents are telling me the switch to flight-inclusive pricing is a game-changer and I’m really excited we’ve made the change,” she said.
“Time is precious for our valued agent partners and as we’re such a trade-friendly brand, we want to do everything we can to support them, so this has been a really successful move.”