by Sarah Kuta
Last updated: 12:40 PM ET, Mon November 18, 2024
The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) kicked off its first-ever virtual River Cruise Week today, with nearly 700 travel advisors in attendance.
The new educational offering, which is taking place through the end of this week, aims to help travel advisors boost their businesses, with a particular emphasis on selling river cruises.
The free event includes general sessions, panels and educational presentations from seven river cruise lines: Avalon Waterways, Van Loon Cruises, Riverside Luxury Cruises, Amadeus, Viking, AmaWaterways and Riviera Cruises. Advisors also have the opportunity to ask questions.
River cruising has become an increasingly popular mode of travel, with 80 percent of ASTA members reporting an uptick in river cruise sales, according to Zane Kerby, president and chief executive officer of ASTA.
To help travel advisors capitalize on that demand, ASTA has hosted a popular in-person River Cruise Expo in Europe for the last three years. The next one is scheduled for March 2025 in Vienna.
“Now in its fourth year, ASTA’s annual River Cruise Expo equips attendees with first-hand specialized knowledge about the distinct qualities, destinations and selling points that make river cruising so compelling,” said Kerby. “This virtual event is a taste of that and will allow you to hear directly from industry leaders about what’s now and what’s coming.”
During the first general session of the week, travel advisors heard from Jason Boeckman, ASTA’s marketing manager. Boeckman shared tips, tricks, dos and don'ts for posting on social media, using real examples of content shared by travel advisors at last year’s River Cruise Expo.
Boeckman discussed the importance of knowing your audience, leaning into video, being authentic and incorporating calls to action into social media posts. But, above all else, he encouraged travel advisors to play around with trending audio, various social media tools and different styles of engaging with their customers.
“Social should be fun, so don’t be afraid to go and have fun on social media, smile a lot, share happy photos—that’s really what it’s all about,” he said.
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