Agencies credit AmaWaterways marketing campaign with rise in river cruise demand

Two agencies have reported a rise in demand for river cruises after winning a share of cooperative marketing funds with AmaWaterways.

 

The luxury line partnered with Aspire in 2024 to launch the inaugural AmaWaterways Partnership Pitch, which invited agents and operators to pitch for cooperative marketing funds worth a total of £10,000.

 

Paramount Cruises, Thompson Travel International, Abbotts Travel, Dawson and Sanderson and Connoisseur Travel were among the agencies to win a share of the prize pot.

 

Paramount Cruises used the money to fund a promotional video series, while Thompson Travel International held an in-person excursion event for clients. 

 

Paramount Cruises’ marketing manager Jess Hartley said the London-based agency created an eight-episode video series to document a staff member’s week on board an AmaWaterways Danube cruise. 

 

She said: “You can send out all the marketing you want – write it in an email and point out all the highlights of the journey – but I feel like seeing it first-hand, especially from someone who’s never been on an AmaWaterways river cruise before, just brings it all to life a bit more.”

 

The series included interviews with the ship’s cruise manager, behind-the-scenes clips with the crew, vlogs of the excursions and the team member’s personal reflections.

 

The videos are now being uploaded to YouTube and promoted via email and website links, with snippets of the episodes uploaded to social media as part of “lead-generation ads” to target those interested in river cruising.

 

Hartley said: “With the YouTube promotions around the series, we have had 30,000 visitors to our AmaWaterways web page since the first of June – that’s 650% up on last year.”

 

She added: “With the activity we’ve been doing with AmaWaterways, the audience [that] is watching and engaging with the content is a lot younger than we thought, which goes against some common misconceptions around river cruising. 

 

“It stands out to us that a younger audience is interested in this product thanks to this content.”

 

Thompson Travel International in Craigavon, Northern Ireland, took a different approach with its winnings, hosting an in-person event where the agency’s director, Jason Calvin, imagined: “If AmaWaterways [was] to host a river cruise in Northern Ireland, what would an excursion look like?” 

 

The company invited clients who had expressed interest in river cruising to a five-star boutique hotel for a scone-making demonstration, afternoon tea and wine-tasting along with a presentation from AmaWaterways.

 

Calvin said: “The most surprising thing for us after the event is that we had a number of really well-priced offers for more common journeys in Europe, but the attendees who booked afterwards chose what we weren’t expecting – the biggest selling product was the Nile cruise.”

 

He added: “Clients are looking for a different experience. People have realised that you can see something much closer to home without a long flight on a river cruise, and interest is growing in that area.”

 

Entries for this year’s AmaWaterways Partnership Pitch are currently open.

 

To enter, agents and operators must complete a written submission outlining their great idea, including details on why they are interested in promoting AmaWaterways, how they feel their customer database matches the line’s guest, and how they would spend the cooperative marketing funds.

Shortlisted entrants will then be invited to deliver a two-minute pitch to the AmaWaterways team.

 

Entrants should complete this form by September 30.