Trade

Travel advisors get knowledge from First river cruise expo

By Netpal Travel Bureau

How to market and sell river cruises was the theme of the inaugural ASTA Global River Cruise Expo and conference held in Budapest recently.

Amadeus, AmaWaterways, Avalon Waterways, Emerald, Scenic, Uniworld and Viking, the featured headliners of the four-day event, gave more than 500 travel advisors a crash course on how best to convey clients that not all river cruises are the same and that there’s a river cruise for everyone. 

Through a mix of educational sessions at the Kempinski Hotel Corvinus and first hand inspections of ships docked side by side on the Danube River, travel advisors could see for themselves the distinct differences and commonalities between the products. 

For instance, sister brands Scenic and Emerald, both part of Australia-based Scenic Group, each had a ship at the expo. The Scenic Amber was on display for advisors to tour throughout the conference, while the Emerald Sun took advisors on a post-conference Danube sailing. 

AmaWaterways’ senior vice president of sales, Alex Pinelo, and newly appointed COO Jon Burrows led an educational session for travel advisors that broke down where their ships sail, itinerary details and travel trends. 

Family travel, smaller groups and spending more on higher-level cabins were just some of the market trends Pinelo told advisors to tap into to better sell AmaWaterways to prospective and returning river cruise clients.

“Traveling as groups of friends or girlfriends, traveling with the family, reuniting after the pandemic as well as health and wellness travel are just some of the trends we’re seeing,” Pinelo said. “People want to travel on smaller ships, on less crowded ships and a river cruise provides just that. Our ships carry a maximum of 156 guests, and they carry a lot of room for activity and don’t feel crowded. The onboard dining experience, the excursions, unlimited WiFi — we offer the immersion, the exclusivity and inclusiveness that guests are looking for.”

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