APT to launch second new-build ship on the Douro in 2028
APT & Travelmarvel has announced plans to deploy a second new-build ship on the Douro in 2028
Speaking to Cruise Trade News onboard its first vessel on the Portuguese river, MS Estrela, UK and Europe managing director Paul Melinis outlined the line’s five-year growth plans.
“We’ve got lots of new ships coming, two more APT vessels later this year and a new Travelmarvel ship on the Rhine and Danube, and we’ll be building another Douro vessel to come in 2028, which is great,” he said.
“[MS Estrela] is a different proposition and a first of its kind, where we operate APT and Travelmarvel guests on the same vessel, giving APT guests more inclusions and Travelmarvel guests more freedom and options.”
The new 2028 Douro ship will be built for the group’s five star luxury brand, APT, while its four star sister brand, Travelmarvel, will take operation of MS Estrela.
“When it comes to value it’s a great proposition, as Travelmarvel guests will be getting a five star luxury ship at Travelmarvel prices. There’s a huge opportunity there for our trade partners,” Melinis added.
“We’ve got really ambitious growth plans; we want to double the business within five years. As we go further into that journey it becomes more challenging, but we’ve done extremely well over the last three years.”
We’ve got really ambitious growth plans; we want to double the business within five years
Head of sales UK and Europe Brad Bennetts said the UK and Irish travel trade – which makes up 75 per cent of APT’s total business – will be pivotal in achieving the company’s ambitious growth targets.
“The trade is at the heart of what we do,” he said. “We have a team that are focused on our key partners and wholesale partners, and combined, that really helps us drive our distribution and our market share.
“Retail has been a massive growth curve for us and over the last three years we’ve seen significant investment, growth and most importantly, support from new retail partners that maybe we haven’t worked with in the past.”
Bennetts hinted at the possibility of expanding the APT & Travelmarvel UK sales team as the company continues on its five year growth plan, following the appointment of Michelle Ryan as the line’s first country manager for Ireland last year.
Speaking on the challenges of filling extra capacity on Europe’s rivers, Melinis said: “We’re after the baby boom market, and there’s roughly 14 million in the UK today, so I think there’s plenty enough to go around for all the operators.
“The UK river market is growing, so it’s really important that agents have a strong understanding of different rivers and the different offerings. It’s about matching the right product to the right client and the right rivers to the right client.
“In the last few years we have not just had many new to APT & Travelmarvel agents, but also new to selling river cruise altogether, which is largely down to the great work Brad and his team have done.”
