With the average river cruise client being well aware and well traveled, the role of the advisor is even more important. Advisors can play a significant role in not just guiding the client to a cruise line more suited to their needs (seven out of 10 advisors), but also to guiding clients to river cruises when they were looking at land vacations instead (more than six out of 10 advisors). One advisor shared, “Most clients know about river cruising by word of mouth or by seeing marketing such as ads on billboards, televi- sion etc.” Another advisor added: STATEMENTS REPRESENTING RIVER CRUISE CLIENTS, SHARE (%) 33% 33% 30% 19% 18% 9% 56% 50% 57% 51% 56% 55% 11% 17% 12% 30% 26% 36% They come with a general idea of river cruise lines they are interested in and then we discuss the options They generally aren't familiar with the river cruise lines or ships, and they come to me for my recommendations They come with a specific destination/itinerary/river they want to visit, and I usually suggest a river cruise They come with a specific river cruise line, but if I don't think it's right, I recommend something else They come with a specific river cruise line, and I book it Client was exploring land vacations and I recommended river cruising Mostly Often Rarely TRENDS IN RIVER CRUISE 2024 My first-time river cruise clients need a bit more coaching. Some think it might be boring which is the main concern. CHART 12 | 27