Travel Advisors: Why ASTA’s Global River Cruise Expo Should Be on Your Calendars Next Year

“We know that an honorable reputation is worth its weight in gold — and the best way to gain reputation in our business is to enlarge your firsthand product knowledge and develop personal relationships.”

These words — part of an opening address delivered by Zane Kerby, president and CEO of the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) — are a perfect way to sum up the purpose of ASTA’s inaugural Global River Cruise Expo, which took place in Budapest, Hungary, March 16-20, to help U.S. travel advisors gain a deeper knowledge of the river cruise market. 

Whether attendees were seasoned river cruise veterans or new to selling the market, the expo provided invaluable opportunities to compare river vessels side by side, meet top executives from various lines and get an overall feel for the onboard experience. 

A Brand-New Event for the Industry

Dreamed up by Bob Duglin, who served as vice president of international membership for ASTA up until his passing last year, the expo brought together more than 500 U.S. travel advisors, global river cruise brands, hundreds of European exhibitors and the Hungarian Tourism Agency to facilitate thorough and meaningful networking and education among river cruise providers and sellers.

“There’s a mutual synergy between travel advisors and river cruise companies,” Kerby said. “It’s a great way for our members to make money, but it’s also a highly complex transaction. As Bob said, one of the real problems is that it takes a long time to learn distinctions between ships and brands and what’s appropriate for each client.”

There’s a mutual synergy between travel advisors and river cruise companies. It’s a great way for our members to make money, but it’s also a highly complex transaction.

Kerby pointed out that learning these differences can require advisors to make multiple trips to Europe, experiencing one brand and one ship at a time. To reduce this time- and money-intensive process, Duglin suggested gathering the brands together in a single place prior to the start of the river cruise season.

It was a proposition that instantly resonated with ASTA members. 

“I’ve been at ASTA for nine years now, and we’ve held events all over the world,” Kerby said. “But we’ve never had such a dramatic and immediate response to an idea as we had to the River Cruise Expo. It’s amazing how quickly the spots filled up.” 

River Cruise Education and Connections

Truly, the expo represented a unique opportunity for participants. On-site river cruise companies included Amadeus River Cruises, AmaWaterways, Avalon Waterways, Scenic Luxury Cruises and Tours, Emerald Cruises, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises and Viking. In addition to hosting education sessions, the lines also offered advisors ship inspections and onboard meals, to provide an authentic taste of the cruise experience. Ships available for touring included AmaVerde, Avalon Envision, Amadeus Silver III, Emerald Sun, Scenic Amber, S.S. Beatrice and Viking Kadlin. AmaMagna also joined the gathering on the last night of the event to host a few inspections.

Following the expo, participants were also able to join a number of river cruises for a post-conference sailing experience. 

RELATED: Why River Cruising Remains a Great Travel Option During COVID-19 

“It was an incredible opportunity for Avalon Waterways to participate in the inaugural ASTA River Cruise Expo,” said Pam Hoffee, COO of the Globus Family of Brands and managing director of Avalon Waterways. “The forum gave us a chance to dine, chat and explore Budapest with about 500 advisors, many of whom are new to selling river cruising. To be alongside five other river cruise brands so advisors could see the differences in our hardware and also learn about our unique Active & Discovery itineraries was priceless.” 

To be alongside five other river cruise brands so advisors could see the differences in our hardware and also learn about our unique Active & Discovery itineraries was priceless.

Hoffee noted that the line has already received group bookings from the event, as well. 

Ann Chamberlin, vice president of sales for Scenic Group USA (also the parent company of Emerald Cruises) was “delighted” by the response attending trade partners had to the Emerald Sun and Scenic Amber as they toured the ships. 

“’How can we do more business with you?’ was a delight to hear over and over during our tours,” she said. “Seeing the ships side-by-side helped educate the trade community and empower them to sell and become expert river advisers for their valued clients.”

Chamberlin added that both Scenic and Emerald will be participating in the event again in 2023.

“We believe firsthand awareness and offering ASTA members these types of valuable experiences will help our valued travel partners grow their business and provide their clients with incredible European cruise experiences.”

Destination Immersion — And Support

Thanks to the Hungarian Tourism Agency, travel advisors also had the chance to explore Budapest — considered the “river capital of the world” — on a variety of sightseeing opportunities across the city, ranging from walking tours of iconic sites to spa visits, Jewish heritage tours, architectural highlights and more.

“Our hope is that all travel advisors attending the event will get to know our beautiful capital and the surrounding region with all its off-the-beaten path destinations — to hopefully convince their clients to spend some extra days with us before or after their river cruises,” said Laszlo Konnyid, deputy CEO of the Hungarian Tourism Agency.

Attending the event was important to many of the participants for reasons other than familiarization, as well. With the conflict in Ukraine on everyone’s minds, it felt more important than ever to be on the ground in Europe, showing support for the travel industry and the region at this challenging time.

“We talked about it for a long time at the senior staff level, and decided that we wanted to move forward,” Kerby said regarding the war in Ukraine. “The vast majority of our members felt the same way, and they showed up and are happy to be here. The cancellation rate was only about 1%; we had around six people cancel out of 500.”

Commitment to Travel Advisors

In addition to the efforts made by the participating river cruise lines to be part of the expo, Emerald Cruises took the event as an opportunity to further demonstrate its commitment to travel advisors by sharing some big news during the opening session. 

Chamberlin announced that Vanessa McGovern, chief sales officer and co-founder of Gifted Travel Network, has been named godmother of the upcoming Emerald Luna. (The new Star-Ship is set to be christened on July 21 in Amsterdam.) 

“I am humbled to receive this honor and continue to work as an advocate for travel advisors,” said McGovern, who also serves on the ASTA Board of Directors Executive Committee and its Government Affairs and Political Action Committee. 

“We value the work and education that ASTA does on behalf of the industry, so much so that we were honored to announce the godmother of the Emerald Luna — our ninth ship in the Star-Ship fleet — at ASTA's first ever Global River Cruise Expo in Budapest,” Chamberlin said. “Vanessa is a perfect godmother as she embodies the leadership and mentoring of the entrepreneurial travel advisor. Her passion for ASTA and the work they do on behalf of the industry should be celebrated.”  

The Details
ASTA Global River Cruise Expo