‘Jane effect’ has boosted river cruising but even she can’t beat Brexit

TV presenter Jane McDonald has raised the profile of river cruising in the UK, where the market leapt 21% last year to a total of 210,400 passengers.

Speaking at the CLIA River Cruise conference, Scenic Cruises MD Colin Downing said the singer’s Channel 5 programme ‘Cruising with Jane McDonald’ had showcased the river cruise product ‘beautifully’, adding ‘we all love her for it’.

However, Avalon Waterways CEO Giles Hawke said future demand had been dampened by fears surrounding Brexit.

He said although bookings were on a par with this time last year, he had been expecting an increase.

"The problem is that some customers are waiting to see what happens, there is a level of nervousness in the market," said Hawke.

While Scenic has tried to reassure customers by guaranteeing no surcharges for 2019, whatever the impact of Brexit, Hawke said Avalon was not planning to introduce a similar ‘Brexit Assurance’.

"We never surcharge anyway, but that’s not the issue. I think it’s more fundamental than people worrying about their holiday costing more after Brexit. There is just so much uncertainty that they’ve decided to hunker down and wait awhile before they commit to travelling after March."

He admitted the traditional river cruise market might be more concerned about the impact of Brexit on their holidays than other, younger markets, but while CroisiEurope sales director John Fair said attracting millennials was ‘an aspiration’, Hawke said they weren’t his target market.

"We’ve already got a large market, so I don’t think it’s about saying, ‘let’s find some 20-year-olds and bring them onboard. It’s about providing activities that appeal to the young at heart, such as walking and yoga."

Amadeus River Cruises’ executive vice president Marcus Leshovar agreed, despite his cruise line having devised two cruises specifically for the under 40s market next year.

"Our ships are perfect for millennials, for instance we have amazing pools, and we tried targeting millennials with a cruise last spring, which was great, and we are continuing to explore this market, but I don’t buy the hype about the millennials, the big volume is not there yet."

When talking about how to attract new cruisers, APT Travel Group’s chief commercial officer Debra Fox said the industry should be targeting ‘baby boomers’ and ‘pre-eminent baby boomers’.

"If we are going to hit up one market, where will we get biggest bang to the buck? Baby boomers love river cruises, and the pre-eminent baby boomers too, this is a critical market to try to reach.

"Baby boomers are all about desire and experiences, they are the largest market, they have the majority of money spent on experiences and one of the biggest things they spend it on is travel.

"We have this huge wave of people coming in to the market in the next five to seven years and you should be talking to them."