While in 2023 there were no disruptions due to low water levels in the rivers, cruise lines were also more prepared. Some cruise lines, for instance, prepared twin ships so that if one stretch of a river was deemed impossible to navigate, guests could be transferred to an identical riverboat nearby. Other plans included keeping alternative itineraries ready. 14 While the top challenge for selling a river cruise remained concerns about rerouting and disruptions due to low/high water levels (46%), this was lower than 2022 (53%). The high cost of river cruising was a concern for 44% of the advisors. A positive note was that 10% of advisors said they had no problem selling river cruise to their clients. CHART 16 | 33 CHALLENGES FACED IN SELLING RIVER CRUISE TRENDS IN THE RIVER CRUISE SEGMENT Concerns about rerouting and disruptions due to low/high water Total cost of river cruising too high Schedule did not match with client’s vacation time/preferences I am not educated on all of the river lines Not enough expertise to sell with confidence I don’t have strong BDM relationship Clients are not interested in river cruises A lot of my clients had taken river cruises and want to do something else Customer interest in river cruises isn’t as strong as it was a couple years ago Not enough sales and marketing support from the river cruise lines I am unaware of new products/brands Quality of current river cruise ships is lacking None, I have plenty of clients interested in river cruising 46% 44% 22% 21% 16% 16% 15% 12% 10% 8% 7% 4% 10% 14 https://www.travelnews.co.za/article/workcations-come-cruises