A-Rosa River Cruises is launching a dedicated UK brochure in an effort to open up new marketing channels and “build the brand” in this country.
The 72-page brochure features the line’s 2023 and 2024 itineraries; a trade call to action; and more than 20 introductory pages on the history of A-Rosa.
A-Rosa said the purpose of the brochure was “to showcase the brand’s flexible approach” and how it was possible “to attract not only traditional river cruise customers but different market segments such as families and city breakers”.
Announcing the new brochure on a Travel Weekly webcast, UK and Ireland managing director Lucia Rowe said: “We’re launching a UK dedicated brochure, the first one ever. In it, we use the language that guests understand but it’s still very much a B2B tool because the call to action is exclusively via the trade.”
She went on to say how the opening section detailed how an A-Rosa cruise “feels, smells and tastes”.
“The brochure is all about recreating the world that you find when you go on an A-Rosa ship. There’s a lot of imagery,” she said.
Rowe explained the brochure, which can be viewed on the line’s website, was for agents to give to their clients to demonstrate how river cruises offer people “so much more”, adding that the brochure release was “a milestone moment” for the German river line.
She said: “We’re trying to give agents all the tools to bring the product into the consumer’s mind while at the same time educate them and bring them on board so that they can experience a cruise for themselves.
“Agents kept saying we need something in our hand and we’re very much about sustainability so we fought this urge quite a bit because we thought we wanted to be sustainable.”
However, Rowe stressed the need to build the A-Rosa brand in the UK market outweighed the negative environmental aspects of launching a physical brochure.
Pictured: A-ROSA River Cruises’ Joe Lavers with Hays Travel Titchfield’s Jayne Jones and Jeanette White
“In the UK, we’re still in the mode of building the brand,” she noted. “The brochure can attract more people than you think, and it can open up new markets and channels.”
“There’s something in the brochure for everyone. There’s something for first time cruisers or people who want to experience only a few nights because they’re not sure about taking a river cruise.
“There are also long exploration-type itineraries and special theme cruises.”
To mark the brochure’s launch, the river line has also extended its January wave offer for another month.
Until the end of February, agents who make an A-Rosa booking will receive early booking discounts, free UK airport lounge passes for their clients and £50 Love2shop vouchers for themselves.
Rowe added: “Customers can only book our products through the trade, so there’s a huge opportunity for agents.
“We’ve extended our January wave offers to run throughout February so they can continue to get rewarded for any sales they make.”
Brochures can be ordered by emailing hello@arosa-cruises.co.uk