River-Cruise Trends For 2014 
22.01.2014
River-Cruise Trends For 2014
Travel trade publication Travel Agent Central believes it has unveiled the top trends for river-cruising in 2014 - and it promises to be good news for the cruise consumer.
Among the trends they have identified for this year are:
- Greater visibility for river-cruising
- More cruise lines than ever before
- Better product differentiation
- Younger cruisers
- More active opportunities
- Enhanced cuisine
- New itineraries
- More special-interest cruises
- More options for solo travellers
The report follows an extensive survey of the likes of A-ROSA Cruises, Viking Cruises, Uniworld, Tauck, Avalon, Scenic Cruises and AmaWaterways.
The key facts were identified as a major increase in marketing, with the likes of Viking taking its story to high-profile TV adverts and increasing the number of agents selling its products. “The main reason is that awareness of the category is growing rapidly, largely in part to our marketing spend,” says Richard Marnell, Viking’s senior vice president of marketing.
Uniworld sales manager Ken Cohen cites more entrants in he market, such as Luftner and CroisiEurope, as a trend in the marketplace. Emerald Cruises will also launch this year in Europe, and A-ROSA, which launched its first product designed for the North American market in 2013, also expands this year in Europe.
“River cruising is no longer just for grandma,” says Judy Parker, senior vice president, marketing, David Morris International, which sells and promotes A-Rosa Cruises within North America. Jennifer Halboth, director of channel marketing for the Globus family of brands, including Avalon Waterways, says agents who are marketing to younger clients — those in their 40s and 50s — are increasing their sales of 10-day or less cruises. “We see the average age on our shorter cruises to be much younger than our longer cruises,” Halboth said.
Myanmar, Vietnam and Portugal (on the Douro, above) are all seen as up-and-coming off-the-beaten-track destiunations but parts of France are also seen as boom areas, notably the Seine and southern France on the Rhone and Saone rivers.
All in all, it promises to add up to a real river-cruise bonanza in 2014 - just as we've been saying for the past few months!
You can see the full Travel Agent Central story on this link.