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Riviera Travel celebrates 40 years in business
Escorted tour and river cruise specialist Riviera Travel this week marked its 40th anniversary with a special event in Paris.
Travel agents and supplier partners celebrated onboard the 140-passenger MS Jane Austen, as she made two short cruises over consecutive days on the Seine via the Eiffel Tower.
Guests also experienced a shore excursion to the Atelier des Lumières digital art centre.
France was Riviera’s inaugural destination in 1984, with founder Michael Wright taking guests on a coach and camping tour of southern France.
Today, the Burton-based business offers almost 1,000 departures per year for nearly 100,000 guests.
It covers 65 countries and all seven continents.
A total of 256 staff now work for the company out of locations including its head office, sales areas across the UK and Ireland, onboard its ships and in holiday destinations.
Phil Hullah, Riviera Travel CEO thanked suppliers and travel agents during the event, as well as showcasing Riviera’s progress over the years.
He also highlighted plans, milestones and targets for the future.
The company is investing in its river cruise fleet with the addition of two new ships in 2025.
Riviera Radiance and Riviera Rose will set sail on the Danube and Douro.
Riviera is introducing a host of themed cruises for 2025. Voyages with a focus on gastronomy are currently the best-sellers.
It will also operate its biggest ever solo-specific programme this year, with 162 exclusive departures available. This is up 20% year-on-year.
So far, bookings revenue for 2024 is up 28% YoY, and for 2025 is up 61% .
It says April and May 2024 river cruises are 95% sold with no availability left on either the Douro or Dutch Bulbfields itineraries.
Riviera is adding to 2024 and 2025 European festive cruises in response to demand.
Also, trade bookings share rose from 20% in 2023 to 25% in 2024.
The company is targeting 200,000 guests overall by 2030.
Phil Hullah said: “It’s been wonderful to celebrate 40 years with so many of the people who made our success possible.”
“I’d like to pay tribute to everyone who has supported us over the years, which of course includes our fantastic travel agent partners.”
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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