Riviera Travel will release its 2026 programme in September, two months earlier than it historically launches itineraries for two years ahead.
Head of trade and partnerships Vicky Billing told Travel Weekly the operator is seeing “huge interest” in 2025 river cruises and tours and it is now looking ahead to 2026.
Billing said the operator wants to “capitalise” on those customers who want to plan in advance, be it due to budgeting reasons or because they like to plan, saying: “Why wouldn’t we offer trips if the demand is there?”
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“We normally launch a two years’ out programme in November, but we are going to bring our 2026 launch date forward to capitalise on interest,” she said.
“We are very strategic here at Riviera and we’ve all sat down and talked about what would be the best things to do in terms of product release dates and this is definitely the right move.
“At the time of launch, we obviously won’t be pushing 2026 like crazy as we’ll mainly be focused on selling 2025 trips, but as soon as those start to fill up, we’ll turn our attention to 2026.
“Our competitors might launch early so there’s no reason why we shouldn’t do the same and capture those early bookers.”