Nicole Edenedo
ASTA's annual River Cruise Expo returns to Europe in March, this time in Amsterdam, and the Society said the event is its biggest yet -- and it's sold out
The conference brings together travel advisors and river cruise execs to network, exchange insights, host educational sessions and provide sellers who are venturing into river cruising with support to get started. It also brings the hardware: River ships from various lines will be standing by for agents to see and experience.
The Expo is now in its third year. The first conference, which was held in Budapest, attracted around 500 travel advisors, seven river cruise companies and seven river vessels for ship inspections. By the next year, attendance shot up to nearly 800 advisors, and while only six river cruises were present, there were nine ships on display.
This year, over 1,300 travel advisors are registered to attend.
Reps from nine lines will be in attendance. Amadeus River Cruises, AmaWaterways, Avalon Waterways, Riverside Luxury Cruises, Viking, Scenic Luxury Cruises, Emerald Cruises and Uniworld will return to the conference this year, while Tauck and Riviera River Cruises will join for the first time.
Expect to see the new Amadeus Cara, the AmaMora and AmaSerena, the Avalon Passion and Avalon Imagery III, the Riverside Debussy, the Emerald Dawn, Riviera's Geoffrey Chaucer, Tauck's Joy, Uniworld's S.S. Victoria and the Viking Sigrun and Viking Ve.
What's fueling demand
Mark Meader, ASTA's senior vice president of industry affairs and education, told me that the event sold out within days of it going on sale last March.
"It's such a unique opportunity that's not replicated anywhere," Meader said. "It is so specific and specialized toward the river cruise industry, and that's a huge draw for people that want to get into the river cruise business. Where else can you see 12 cruise ships in one fell swoop?"
ASTA last year began hosting most advisors onboard the ships instead of in hotels, in order to accommodate the increase in attendees. The move was a huge success in another way: It helped give advisors a taste of the onboard experience, especially if some weren't able to join the fam cruises that several lines organize around the conference.
"We aim to provide different ships each time, with new ships or lines that haven't participated before, in order to make it more valuable for advisors," Meader said.
More in-depth conference programming
The River Cruise Expo also plans to curate more in-depth panel discussions using some of the top-selling river cruise agents, who will be tasked with helping new advisors understand the ins and outs of the product, as well as sharing strategies to attract clients who are curious about this type of travel.
Advisors can expect a robust general session that will include three workshops and panel discussions aimed at marketing strategies and increasing sales. There will be a session on how to leverage social media, marketing techniques and other strategies that can boost an advisor's sales. I'll also be returning to the podium this year: I'm moderating a panel with
advisors about how attendees can convert reluctant river cruise clients
into genuine enthusiasts.
"These panels are a peer-to-peer opportunity, because on each panel we'll have travel advisors experts, all of whom are deemed the top river cruise sellers by the river cruise lines themselves, who can provide a great deal of value because they've already been successful in river cruising," Meader said.
While the general session will be hosted in the ballroom of Hotel Movenpick Amsterdam City Centre to accommodate the volume, educational breakout sessions will once again take place onboard the ships. Details on those programs are still in the works, but advisors can likely expect sessions similar to previous years, with presentations on the lines' portfolios; highlights of destinations along some of Europe's most popular rivers; and new itineraries and programs.
"There's a need. There's a demand," Meader said. "So we anticipate that growth to continue into 2025, when there will be an even more unique location, with more river cruise ships."