The 2024 European River Cruise Summit now underway along the Danube

By Ann Ruppenstein

October 30, 2024

This week 110 travel advisors from coast to coast are setting sail along the Danube for the second annual European River Cruise Summit presented by ACTA and Avalon Waterways.

On a special voyage from Budapest, Hungary to Vilshofen, Germany, agents are embarking on a unique itinerary that’s a combination of a Classic trip and an Active & Discovery sailing to showcase the best of what awaits clients on a Danube river cruise.

“Last year was on the Rhine and this year is on the Danube. Those are our two most popular itineraries so that’s why we want to get as many advisors on board as possible,” Denise Harper, senior director of sales for the Globus family of brands, which has Avalon Waterways as its river cruise product, told PressToday from Avalon Passion as it arrived in Bratislava. “Really the intent is to get a cross section of consortia and hosts from across Canada so that they all experience it and become our pied pipers, our cheerleaders.”

Harper said close to 300 travel advisors applied for the trip, while only 110 could be accepted to do occupancy constraints.

“We have a lot of discovery excursions that are a lot of fun for the region. We’ve got a painting class, a wine tour, we’ve got biking tours. So culturally, they’re just seeing the best of the region,” she added.

Along with informative sessions and daily excursions, a number of social networking events are also planned like a special Halloween masquerade soiree and a farewell gala dinner. There’s also an educational component with various workshops planned across a variety of topics that will also serve to create more brand awareness and in-depth knowledge.

Kicking off the educational sessions, Caroline Suarez, BDM for Eastern Ontario and Ottawa, held a presentation on what agents should know about Avalon Waterways during a workshop called A New Wave in Cruising.

Notably, Harper stressed the importance of travel advisors.

“We are a 100 per cent trade focussed in Canada, on the sales team,” she noted. “So they’re extremely important. It’s so rewarding for us because a lot of preparation goes into this cruise so to see how well every body gelled from day one was great. Even though there are competitors, people are already sharing ideas. People are being open about their business and how they promote their business and they are so engaged.”

Pam Hoffee, president of Avalon Waterways, will also be joining the group tomorrow, Oct. 31 to connect with the valued travel trade.

Although the river has yet to be determined, Harper confirmed that the Summit will again take place next year. She suggested that interest advisors connect with their BDMs to express their interest in attending.

“The agents are really from coast to coast — we were very aware of not having everyone from Ontario,” she said.

The river cruise kicked off with an illumination sailing to see the highlights along the Danube in Budapest by night. Representatives from Manulife and Air Canada are also taking part in the river cruise.