Sales of River Cruise Companies
Please check off the most appropriate box for each of the below River Cruise Lines:
We identified 59 companies that sell river cruises, and
common comments from agents is there are a lot more
suppliers than they were aware of. In fact, only 13 had
80% awareness, and the vast majority, over 40 of the
companies (not all shown), had less than 50% awareness
with this audience of heavy sellers in the segment.
“If I don’t know about them, I can’t sell them. If they
want business from agents, they need to do more,” said
one advisor. Another added, “Whew I am embarrassed
about so many unfamiliar companies.”
Of the long list, AmaWaterways and Viking River Cruises
were the most widely sold (85%). Other widely sold
lines included Avalon Waterways (79%), Uniworld/U
by Uniworld (71%), Tauck River Cruises (65%), Crystal
River Cruises (64%), American Queen Steamboat
Company (58%), American Cruise Lines (57%), Emerald
Waterways (52%), Scenic Luxury Cruises (51%),
G Adventures (46%), and Abercrombie & Kent (41%).
There was a big difference in how Canadian agents
answered this question, with the main finding being
that only a few lines had broad penetration, led by
Emerald Waterways (51%), G Adventures (44%),
Avalon Waterways (44%), Viking (43%), Scenic (42%),
AmaWaterways (41%), Uniworld (41%), Crystal (37%),
Tauck (35%), and American Queen (31%).
Either way, there seems to be an opportunity for many
of these companies to build sales through retail travel
agencies if they can generate awareness to start.
“There are so many lines I have never heard of. Training
on those would be wonderful,” said one agent, while
another noted, “I have the ability to book any cruise
26
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CHART 12-a
I/My Agency Sells
This Company
I Am Not
Familiar
with This Company
AmaWaterways
85%
2%
Viking River Cruises
85%
3%
Avalon Waterways
79%
4%
Uniworld/ U by Uniworld
71%
4%
Tauck River Cruises
65%
6%
Crystal River Cruises
64%
6%
American Queen Steamboat Company
58%
6%
American Cruise Lines
57%
8%
Emerald Waterways
52%
8%
Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours
51%
8%
G Adventures
46%
14%
Abercrombie & Kent
41%
15%
Amadeus River Cruises
28%
19%
European Waterways
18%
34%
Belmond
16%
42%
Chart 12-a continued on next page