Riviera Travel has reported an impressive trade demand for its long-haul river cruise programme, with forward bookings up by 40 per cent year-on-year
The river cruise line recently added the Ganges and Yangtze to its exotic rivers programme, which was complemented by the launch of Riviera Alba on the Mekong, its first exclusive ship outside Europe.
Riviera Alba is proving particularly popular among agents, accounting for 34 per cent of all bookings for the ship's 2027 departures, rising to almost 46 per cent across 2027 and 2028 combined. For 2028 departures alone, the trade currently represents 59% of bookings.
The line says these figures underline the opportunity for agents to start pushing long-hail river cruise itineraries to their clients.
Will Sarson, product director, Riviera Travel, said: “The response from the trade to our long-haul river cruise programme has been fantastic.
“Agents have really embraced the opportunity to offer customers something beyond the traditional European river cruise, combining the experience and reassurance of travelling with Riviera with some of the world's most exciting destinations.
“Riviera Alba is a particularly exciting milestone for us, and seeing the trade already account for almost half of our bookings across 2027 and 2028 demonstrates the confidence agents have in both the product and the opportunity.
“Alongside strong early demand for the Ganges and Yangtze, it gives us enormous confidence in the potential of worldwide river cruising.”
Riviera’s worldwide collection now incorporates river cruise experiences across Southeast Asia, India, China and Egypt, including sailings on the Mekong, Ganges, Yangtze and Nile.
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