Giles Hawke of Cosmos and Avalon Waterways says carefully planned stops are crucial to every sailing
Having recently returned from the Clia RiverView Conference in Vienna, I feel heartened and excited by the few days we spent there and the potential that this promises all river cruise operators in terms of future sales.
As with ocean cruising, skiing, luxury hotels, big resorts, safaris and many other holiday types, it is impossible to properly understand and sell a river cruise if you haven’t experienced it, even if for just a few hours.
Half of the attendees had never been on a river cruise ship before, so being able to effectively sell this type of holiday must be almost impossible without having seen what it actually looks and feels like.
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As my friend and fellow columnist Miles pointed out last week, the feedback from many agents attending was that this conference really opened their eyes to the quality of river cruise and has given them ways to sell to customers to whom they otherwise might not have mentioned a river cruise.
As an operator, the opportunity to get more than 400 agents to visit our ship in a very short space of time is something that is only possible by being a member of Clia and being involved in this sort of conference. We run fam trips and have a Suite Rewards agent programme, but only a great conference like this allows us to get such footfall.
Time and money
The key now is that agents act on what they have learnt and look at their databases and expand their marketing activity to include river cruise as a core part of their offering.
There was a lot of talk during the conference about the investment river cruise lines are putting in to make ships available, and the investment that agents are making in terms of time and cost to spend four days better understanding this lucrative sector.
It’s now absolutely vital that both sides see a return on this investment so that we all continue to find this sort of event worthwhile and a valuable use of precious time and money. The trade fair was incredibly busy and lots of contact details were exchanged, so let’s hope it all leads to increased business for all involved.
As we know, conferences are not all hard work and everyone had lots of fun. The evenings on the ships were lively and late; the fun run to raise money for the Family Holiday Charity was sociable and invigorating; the excursions were illuminating and educational; and the chance to meet new people and see old friends was exceptional. The cancelled flights, lost baggage, delays and disruption getting to the conference were quickly forgotten amid the joy of working positively together towards a common goal of getting more people to take a river cruise as a holiday.
Virtuous circle
I left with a few key takeaways from the conference that might help others. First, there really is a river cruise to suit every budget, every taste and every age – but the destination is absolutely key. Not only that, but being in the heart of a country and stopping right where the action is remains central to the river cruise offering. The food, drink and inclusions of a river cruise are very much the icing on the cake of an amazing travel experience. And while the initial ticket price may be high, what you get for that money is exceptional in terms of quality and value, and agents earn commission on a significant portion of the total holiday spend.
Finally, the investment agents make in getting to a conference needs to be realised in terms of increased sales and earnings. These sorts of things are self-fulfilling and create a virtuous circle: operators invest in training and development, and agents sell on the back of this, which creates more future investment for more future development, and on it goes.
Thanks to Clia and all the river operators who put together the whole event. Thanks to the agents who attended. And thanks in advance for the bookings we can all hope to see as a result.
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