By JO-ANNE HUI-MILLER, associate publisher
From expanded fleets and fresh destinations to new competitors heating up the market, the river cruise sector is booming and it’s even caught the eye of Time magazine, which yesterday announced Viking as one of its 100 most influential companies in the world.
“River cruising has been growing in popularity but it’s still a niche area of cruising and holds a huge amount of potential,” Cruise Lines International Association MD for Australasia, Joel Katz, told me in an interview for Cruise Weekly‘s new special report focusing on river cruising.
One of the major growth areas of the industry lies in encouraging non-cruisers to consider river cruising, with its ability to allow guests to immerse themselves in multiple destinations and spectacular scenery at a relaxed pace, he added.
“We often hear of guests who might have insisted they weren’t suited to cruising, but came back from a river cruise as a convert,” Katz said.
“Younger generations are increasingly cruise-curious, and river cruise lines cater to them well with more active excursions and experience-led itineraries.
“At the same time, repeat factors are very high in river cruising, which presents great opportunities to suggest new rivers, new destinations and new regions to past cruisers.”
Of course, it is often an easy sell when persuading ocean cruisers to switch to sailing on some of the world’s greatest rivers, especially for those looking for new travel experiences.
Meanwhile, whether you’re a foodie, history buff or classical music enthusiast, river cruise lines like Avalon Waterways and Uniworld are leaning into specialist itineraries, adding cultural depth to their sailings. The trend aligns with the overall industry’s increasing focus on experiences, immersive activities and themed cruises.
Another white space in the river cruise market is families and kids, a demographic that new entrant Trafalgar has its eye on. Unlike its ocean counterparts with plenty of kids’ clubs, onboard programs and rollercoasters galore, there are not many itineraries and experiences suitable for kids of any age in river cruising – until now.
While there are currently no dedicated childminding facilities on Trafalgar, the line offers kid-friendly entertainment, interconnected staterooms and flexible onboard spaces to appeal to its youngest passengers. It will be interesting to see the flow-on effect this accessible approach may have on other river cruise lines in the future.
Beyond new guests and itineraries, the sector’s continued growth increasingly depends on venturing into new waterways.
AmaWaterways’ pioneering efforts on the Magdalena River come to mind. In 2025, the cruise line finally launched the river’s first ever luxury cruise ship, after three years of collaborating with Colombia’s communities and private and public sectors on the project.
My colleague Myles Stedman recently returned from a famil with Avalon Waterways, where he chatted with president Pam Hoffee, who urged the wider industry to begin conversations around finding new ports.
For example, the cruise line developed a port at the historic Austrian town of Ybbs an der Donau six years ago, although there are plenty of other ports ripe for further development, including Hungary’s Esztergom and Visegrad.
“I think there are a lot of opportunities in Europe to go beyond the itineraries that exist and with so much more capacity coming, I think that’s a reality of what we need to do as an industry,” Hoffee told Cruise Weekly.
“There are communities that already have enough business from the river cruise industry and they’re happy with what they have. 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.”
It is this kind of energy and sense of opportunity and innovation that is currently driving the thriving river cruise sector – and one that will see it reap plenty of benefits for the industry in the future.
Don’t forget to check out our new river cruise report, jam-packed with news and insights from key industry players around the trajectory of the market and practical advice for travel agents.
I really enjoyed some of the takes on the future of river cruise ship design from industry experts like Uniworld CEO Ellen Bettridge, Viking MD Michelle Black, APT CEO David Cox, CLIA MD for Australasia Joel Katz and plenty others.
And of course, a special thank you to our partners including Viking and AmaWaterways.
The rest of the week…
Some of the biggest breakers this week included Qantas continuing to reduce capacity across its international and domestic networks, extending to between July and September.
Qantas’ Sydney to Bengaluru service will be suspended from Aug to the end of Oct, as well as NZ services, with both Qantas and Jetstar reducing capacity.
Meanwhile, the airline is redeploying more planes to accommodate flights to Europe amid rising demand, including the addition of Perth-Rome frequencies until the end of Oct and the return of three return flights a week from Sydney to Paris through Singapore.
Moving on, well-loved industry personality Richard Taylor finally lifted the lid on his new venture this week, Talent for Travel, which will support employers seeking high-quality, pre-vetted candidates, as well as individuals looking for their next roles.
“I have believed for a long time that there’s a space within the travel industry for a recruiter with a sole focus on our people,” he said.
“One that communicates with candidates with both discretion and respect, and that supports employers with a strong understanding of what’s needed for their business.”
We also reported on the NTIAs, with nominations now open and several refreshed categories on offer. Check them out HERE.
On Tuesday, we published a story on the launch of AmaAir in Australia, AmaWaterways’ fly-cruise offering which provides end-to-end river cruise journeys, as well as the Royal Caribbean’s new order for its sixth and seventh Icon-class vessels.
In other cruise news, Windstar Cruises‘ Wind Star has completed her full transformation, making her the line’s first ship to finish both phases of the Setting Sails refurbishment project.
Cruise Weekly‘s Myles Stedman reported on fast-growing UK-based cruise line Panache, which is set to launch in Australia in just a few weeks, and chatted with its founder James Cole about the business’ future plans.
“There were more than 1.5 million cruisers in Australia in 2025, and fly-cruising grew by more than 17% last year,” Cole said. “Combine that with how quickly the luxury and ultra-luxury cruise lines are building ships, and that is a phenomenal opportunity.”
Looking up to the skies, Sydney Airport reported record international arrivals for the first quarter of the year, with 4.57 million passengers coming through its terminals, despite the disruption of the Middle East.
Meanwhile, my colleague James Bale interviewed Minor Hotels chief operating officer Craig Hooley about the hotel group’s plans to bring its NH Collection and NH Hotels brands to every capital across the country within the next five years.
Hooley also discussed the business’ plans to leverage the MICE and leisure sectors in the future.
“Traditionally [a city relies on] a lot on corporate MICE events and global events coming to town to fuel accommodation demand and drive our economy,” he said.
“And what we’re finding also is that the average spend of that [form of] travel is significantly higher, [with] people investing quite heavily into these events.
“It’s good for both the domestic economy, but also good for the accommodation sector because we’re seeing some high ADRs and some big spends coming into these events.”
Over at United Airlines, CEO Scott Kirby shared the behind-the-scenes conversations he had with American Airlines about a potential merger, which was eventually nixed.
Kirby was quite bullish about the idea, although AA was quick to pour cold water on the proposition on 17 April, stating it “is not engaged with or interested in any discussions regarding a merger with United Airlines”.
”I was confident that this combination, which would have been about adding and not subtracting, creating a truly great airline that customers love, could get regulatory approval,” Kirby revealed.
“I was hoping to pitch that story to American, but they declined to engage and instead responded by publicly closing the door.”
On that note, it’s time to close the door on this wrap. See you at the same time, same place, next week.
Enjoy the weekend!
