Riviera Travel reveals surge in trade bookings

Riviera Travel trade bookings have increased by more than a third year-on-year.

This includes an uptick of 51% for river cruises, and 66% for dedicated solo departures across both its cruise and escorted touring product.

The trade has also prompted a sharp rise in ‘Signature Tour’ demand on long-haul escorted tours.

Signature tours – which offer up to three enhanced experiences on existing itineraries – have seen a 38% growth in trade revenue year-on-year.

As such, further itineraries will be added to next year’s programme – Imperial Cities of Morocco, Jordan & Petra; South Africa; The Best of Japan; and Southern India’s Coastal Route – bringing the worldwide total on offer up to 20.

Overall, the trade team has increased its bookings share of Riviera’s business by 10% since 2019.

The operator has made a concerted effort to improve engagement with agents since the start of the year. This includes:

Bolstering its trade team. Seven key account managers are now in place, with four additions recruited this year.

Two newly created roles – national sales manager, retail & OTAs; and national sales manager, homeworkers – have also been introduced.

A dedicated trade reservations team is additionally now in place.

The trade marketing team has been expanded by three to five.

Running a bi-annual trade engagement committee, with a cross-section of agents from the industry, the committee is in place to gather feedback, act on suggestions and help explain Riviera’s plans and updates.

Hosting 10 Fam trips, across both river cruise and escorted touring product, to a record 100 agents.

The launch earlier this month of a new e-learning platform – ‘Riviera Explorer’ – which aims to help agents improve their brand knowledge. The platform already has over 1,000 users, half of whom are new-to-brand.

Introducing an internal trade app, which allows key account managers to track their agent visits and outcomes. To date it has reduced the time spent on administration tasks by around 50%.

Enhancing relationships with both The Travel Network Group and Advantage Travel Partnership, to help secure further partnerships with more independent agents.

Vicky Billing, Riviera Travel head of trade and partnerships UK & Ireland, said: “We are over the moon with the support we have had from our amazing trade partners this year. My team and I are so grateful for every single booking.”

“It’s been particularly satisfying to see travel agents who have never sold Riviera making bookings on a regular basis.” 

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