AVALON Waterways will package more product with its sister brand Globus under new MD Chris Hall’s leadership.
The strategy of pairing a river cruise with a land itinerary from its premium touring sister brand will cater to the desires of Australian travellers, the new Globus Family of Brands head (pictured) told CW.
“Something we haven’t really taken advantage of is the combination opportunities there are between either river-plus-river, or river-plus-land,” he said.
“From what I can see, we’ve done a few things in the past, but I do think that there’s an opportunity for more of that, particularly for our market, where we travel longer…we don’t just go for a seven-night river cruise, there are always add-ons.
“It’s really about having an overall holiday packaged up with what the market is wanting…we need to look closely and make sure we’re serving up the right packages,” he added.
Sharper combination itineraries will also help Avalon differentiate itself in the market, as ocean lines and other travel brands rush to launch river cruise products.
“We don’t have an aggressive approach to growth…it’s more of a responsible pace is how we see it,” Hall explained.
“We’re not trying to be everything to all people, and I think the size and this intended growth makes sense for the demand that we’ve got.”
The cruise line has a commitment to inventory growth of 5%-7% each year, which Hall believes is enough to answer to the growing demand for the river cruise sector.
“I think some of the data going around says there’s a 50% increase in demand coming over the next three to five years, and we’ll participate in that as we also lift our capacity,” he said. MS