Press Release | March 14, 2024

CLIA concludes largest-ever RiverView Conference

The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) UK & Ireland's largest-ever RiverView Conference has concluded in Amsterdam. A record 540 delegates had the opportunity to visit 11 river cruise ships, as well as hear CLIA's plans to help further raise the profile of the river sector with the trade.

The event, the 12th to be held, included key speaker sessions and a networking trade fair. Delegates spent two nights on a ship, with hosted dinners.

Themes covered included attracting first-time customers, sustainability, innovation and new itineraries.

During the conference, Andy Harmer, managing director CLIA UK & Ireland, announced that five new river cruise training initiatives and activities are being launched this year. They comprise:

A new virtual RiverView learning course. The course will take learners on a river cruise journey from Amsterdam to Bucharest, focussing on both the Rhine and Danube river experiences.
River cruise starting to appear in CLIA's virtual ship tours library from April.
An in-person river cruise residential event. Scheduled for the latter part of 2024, more details will be announced in due course.
The first dedicated river cruise dinner for key stakeholders and agent partners, which will take place in Glasgow on April 30.
Online countdowns on the CLIA website to the launch of each of the 15 new river cruise ships that set sail this year.

Andy Harmer said: “I'd like to thank all of the agents who joined our largest-ever RiverView conference. Their fantastic energy and enthusiasm typifies the optimism we're seeing across the sector, and they leave us with even more first-hand knowledge and expertise to pass on to customers and colleagues.

"All of our delegates saw for themselves just why river cruise is so popular with guests, and our upcoming activities will help maintain that positive momentum across this year and beyond."

The 11 ships available to visit were: