RIVER cruising will need to expand its destination map, particularly in Europe, as the market grows in the coming years, according to Avalon Waterways president Pam Hoffee. Speaking to Cruise Weekly on board this week’s Avalon training charter, Hoffee said added capacity in the coming years will mean new destinations...
RIVER cruising will need to expand its destination map, particularly in Europe, as the market grows in the coming years, according to Avalon Waterways president Pam Hoffee.
Speaking to Cruise Weekly on board this week’s Avalon training charter, Hoffee said added capacity in the coming years will mean new destinations along already popular rivers will need to be developed, as opposed to “over-loving” current ports.
“I think there are a lot of opportunities in Europe to go beyond the itineraries that exist now, and with so much more capacity coming, I think that’s a reality of what we need to do as an industry,” Hoffee said.
“There are communities that already have enough business from the river cruise industry and they’re happy with what they have,” she added.
“We have to develop with communities that want to have river cruise ships coming, and there are tons of charming places that nobody’s going to.”
One port, developed by Avalon, is Austria’s Ybbs an der Donau, which is more than 700 years old.
Hoffee said Avalon initially started sailing to the port as an alternative to other more heavily visited destinations such as Melk and Durnstein – which were originally developed due to the influence of cruising.
She also pointed to ports on Hungary’s Danube Bend, such as Esztergom and Visegrad, which are ripe for further development.
Avalon visits these destinations on a number of its itineraries, but Hoffee said the line may add more calls in the following years.
Despite this, the wider industry needs to start talking about finding new ports, she said. MS
