The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) has continued to break records with its annual River Cruise Expo — and 2026 was no exception.
The fifth-annual event welcomed a record 1,600 industry professionals to Amsterdam for three days of education sessions, networking and onboard experiences. Fourteen river cruise brands attended, including new-to-market entrants Trafalgar River Cruises and Celebrity River Cruises, as well as first-time participants Mayfair Cruises and Viva Cruises.
Here’s what we learned during this year’s event.
River Cruising Continues to Gain Momentum
Of the 1,600 expo attendees, 900 were first-timers, reflecting the continued power of this niche — and its growing demand, according to Zane Kerby, president and CEO of ASTA.
“We launched this event in 2022 because we felt that river cruising deserved its own stage, its own spotlight and its own community of professionals committed to mastering it,” he said.
Kerby also notes that while the budget travel segment continues to struggle, premium experiences, such as river cruising, continue to see strong demand.
While Europe represents 90% of river cruises, 60% of its passengers — and 80% of revenue — come from North American travelers. Prices rose 3-4% last year, and bookings increased by 5%.
Viva Cruises was a first-time participant at the expo.
Credit: 2026 Jason Dixson Photography/American Society of Travel AdvisorsThat’s a winning recipe for advisors looking to break into the market, Kerby says, joking that “if you don’t smell an opportunity, the problem might be a stuffy nose.”
If you don’t smell an opportunity, the problem might be a stuffy nose.
One first-time attendee, Cyndi DeBracy, owner of Onboard Odyssey in North Texas, says that although she’s sold a handful of river cruises in the past, she enjoyed the opportunity to get a hands-on feel for multiple brands, and learning how to apply their resources to her business.
“I want to specialize in groups, and loved hearing marketing strategies from all the lines,” she said. “I have new ideas for how to target and reach them. I’ll be going home with some new tools, resources and relationships."
Another benefit of attending is facetime with C-suite executives, says Michael Schottey, vice president of marketing, membership and communication for ASTA.
“You can go to lots of different events and meet your BDM, and those BDM relationships are so important,” he said. “But you walk around the tradeshow [here], and meet AmaWaterways’ co-founder Kristin Karst or Viking’s Michele Saegesser, vice president of sales and national accounts, or Riverside Cruises’ CEO Jen Halboth … all the brand representatives who are at the highest level.”
Ship Tours Offer Insider Access and Comparison Knowledge
Two new ships docked in Amsterdam for the event: Uniworld Boutique River Cruises’ S.S. Emilie, the line’s art-nouveau ship, and AmaWaterways’ AmaSofia, which was christened in an on-site ceremony helmed by godmother Sarah Little, senior vice president of business development for ASTA.
Additionally, Viva Cruises joined the lineup this year with its Viva Enjoy ship, and Egyptian specialist Mayfair Cruises had representation on the mainstage. Other river lines that brought ships to the event included Amadeus River Cruises, AmaWaterways, Avalon Waterways, Riviera Travel, Emerald Waterways, Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours, Tauck and Uniworld Boutique River Cruises.
Attendees visited ships for experiential learning opportunities.
Credit: 2026 Jason Dixson Photography/American Society of Travel AdvisorsIn addition to participating in open-house-style tours, travel advisors had the opportunity to dine onboard the ships, or stay overnight throughout the conference. For AmaWaterways, this meant an opportunity to showcase the company’s rebranded exteriors, its new music note-inspired logo and its updated color palette.
As the market grows, differentiation becomes increasingly important, says Catherine Powell, CEO of AmaWaterways.
“It’s a sea of sameness,” she said. “It’s a lot of white and blue, and then you see our [ships]. We’re feeling modern, we’re feeling fresh. It’s important for us to have a brand that cuts through."
Celebrity River Cruises and Trafalgar River Cruises Introduce Themselves
Although river cruising makes up about 10% of the overall cruise industry, it’s growing faster than ocean cruising (5% year over year for river, compared with a 1.5% increase for ocean).
And that growth is drawing new brands into the market.
Although Celebrity River Cruises doesn’t officially launch its first ship, Celebrity Compass, until 2027, Katina Athanasiou, senior vice president of sales and services for Celebrity, offered lunch-and-learn presentations at the expo to introduce the brand’s plan, which includes 20 ships in the pipeline.
The target client? Existing Celebrity Cruises loyalists. More than half of Celebrity guests have taken or plan to take a river cruise, and Celebrity will cater to this group by linking its river product with the existing Captain’s Club loyalty program. Ship design also nods to the Edge Class of ocean ships, including cantilevered “magic pods” inspired by the Magic Carpet Restaurant experience onboard the ocean vessels. Popular Celebrity venues also make their river debut, including Cafe al Bacio, the Sunset Lounge and the Martini Bar.
“We’ve talked a lot about how we want to disrupt the river space in a way that’s intentional and meaningful for Celebrity and for our guests,” Athanasiou said. “We started bringing it to life with our ships and design, which are very different than anything else you’ve seen on the rivers, and we’re really pushing the envelope. This space has been ready for transformation.”
This space has been ready for transformation.
Trafalgar is also leveraging its expertise as an established brand. The nearly 80-year-old tour operator is preparing to debut three new ships — Verity, Reverie and Harmonie — by 2027.
“We’ve really tapped into what land vacations should be, what people want them to be,” said Arin Vaughan, director of strategic accounts for The Travel Corporation, during an education session. “Trafalgar really is a brand for everybody when it comes to exploring land in different destinations. And we’re seamlessly bridging the road to the river.”
The itineraries will build on existing land tours, she adds, and will also share a loyalty program.
“It’s everything you love about Trafalgar … you just get a different mode of transportation,” she said.
Shore Excursions Are Becoming a Main Draw
Many river cruise partners attending the expo mentioned that they’re seeing increased interest in a river cruise’s destination, rather than the ship.
Tor Hagen, chairman of Viking, says that has always been true for the line, noting that his river cruisers have gone “for the cultural experience,” and that’s why Viking has long been known as “the thinking person’s cruise.” It’s also a reason why the company’s river ships are nearly identical to each other.
Celebrity plans to cater to this growing interest with its Destination Discovery Program, announced at the conference, which is a lineup of shore excursions that fall within four series: The Storyteller and Skillmaster Series (tours led by local insiders, with the Skillmaster Series including an interactive element, such as a cooking class); the Keys to the City Series (tech-led solo exploration without a guide); and the Celebrity Takeover Series, featuring an exclusive, private event offered once per sailing.
Celebrity announced its Destination Discovery Program at the conference.
Credit: 2026 Jason Dixson Photography/American Society of Travel AdvisorsAmadeus River Cruises is also debuting a new “active” shore excursion package for deeper immersion into a destination via hiking or biking excursions, while Uniworld is promoting its combination river-and-rail itineraries and its mystery cruises, where the ports of call remain unknown to the guests.
AmaWaterways just announced the launch of its City Escapes Program, designed to immerse clients in a river city with overnight stays, increased day-time sailings and extended periods in cities such as Paris and Strasbourg, France; Amsterdam; Vienna; and Budapest.
Meanwhile, Riviera Travel is debuting its Grand Tour itineraries this year, which Marilyn Conroy, executive vice president of business development, says use “the hub-spoke mechanism."
“A client will check into a hotel, and they’ll spend a week in that hotel and not packing and unpacking, because that’s definitely the downside of touring,” she said.
Brands Seek Sustainable Growth Strategy
Some river cruise lines — including Avalon, AmaWaterways and Riviera — may be growing at a slower pace than competitors, but that choice is deliberate.
Avalon's Pam Hoffee says the line's growth plan is intentionally on the slower side.
Credit: 2026 Jason Dixson Photography/American Society of Travel Advisors“Our growth plan is quite different than some of the messaging here,” said Pam Hoffee, president of Avalon Waterways. “For us, growth on the rivers is really intentional, and we will never be the biggest river cruise line out there. We’re growing to meet the demand that we’re hoping to create, and what growth means for us is about one ship per year.”
Part of this strategy is also making sure the guest experience remains intact, Hoffee says.
“For us, coming out with 20 ships in one year would not mean that we could maintain the type of service that we have,” she explained.
Another potential issue is “over-loving” some of the popular river cruise destinations, Hoffee notes, which can lead to overtourism and stress on the surrounding communities.
“We want to be part of a solution, not part of a problem,” she added. “And two years ago, we started inviting the communities we work with at the end our season to come onboard our ships, celebrate the experience and [give us] their feedback.”
It’s a strategy that AmaWaterways has also implemented, with co-founder Karst noting that she recently invited Amsterdam locals onboard AmaSofia. She also says the line is thoughtful about how its entrance into off-the-beaten-path destinations affects the local communities, offering several programs in such areas, ranging from river cleanup to educational programs along the Magdelena River in Colombia.
“Community relationships are extremely important to us,” Karst said. “Because it’s all about giving back, making sure that our success is the community’s success and [we are] supporting the most vulnerable communities.”
Next Year’s River Cruise Expo
The 2027 iteration of the event heads back to Vienna (the location for 2025’s conference), and will take place March 10-14. It’s gearing up to be even bigger than 2026’s expo, with at least 13 brands and 17 ships participating. Century Cruises will participate for the first time, and Celebrity River Cruises returns as title sponsor.
