Photos by Steve Dunlop
Four river cruise sales chiefs shared their top selling tips with travel agents at this year’s CLIA River Cruise Conference in Amsterdam
The four, who’s names all coincidentally begin with the letter ‘J’, took to the stage as the ‘Four Js’ to share their advice.
Janet Parton, director of sales for Avalon Waterways, Jamie Loizou, sales, marketing director and digital director for AmaWaterways, Jess Shelton-Agar, head of sales APT UK, and John Fair, UK sales director CroisiEurope, outlined the challenges and opportunities for the trade.
Here’s some of what they had to say:
Challenges for agents
There are too many barriers
There is still a perception that river cruises are just for old people
There is a lack of firsthand knowledge among agents
Customers aren’t actively asking for river cruises
It’s difficult to keep up with new ships, new itineraries and new destinations
Sales tips
Actively focus on river cruises
Maybe focus on a few cruise lines or a few rivers
Experience the product, either through a FAM trip or ship visits
Become an expert in the sector, which will add value to your business and will lead to great customer engagement
Understand the rivers and group the rivers into areas and themes, for example for city breaks think of the Rhine or Danube, for scenic cruises things of the Douro or the Rhone, for food and wine focus on the Garonne or Dordogne, or to delve deep into cultures consider the Mekong, Amazon or Irrawaddy
Make full use of CLIA training programmes and events
Make full use of river cruise lines’ own online training and the expertise of their sales teams
Keep an eye on themed cruises or cruises built around events
Keep an eye on new ships – everybody loves an inaugural sailing
Keep an eye on market trends, ask river cruise lines what is selling well
Host consumer shows focused on river cruises
Tell your customers what you’re doing, for example through social media
Don’t be afraid to showcase your learning
Tell customers the key benefits of a river cruise, for example you only unpack and pack once, you’re taken through the heart of a destination, a cruise is generally all-inclusive, and all the costs are up front.
