| Trafalgar on global river mission

EUROPE appears to be just the beginning for Trafalgar’s river cruise line, with vice president Damien O’Connor indicating to CW a potential future global expansion for the brand.

O’Connor flagged waterways throughout the Americas and Asia as potential future destinations for Trafalgar while speaking to CW aboard the cruise line’s inaugural river cruise last week voyage (see page three).

On Fri, Trafalgar Verity set sail on the Rhine, while the cruise line has also currently committed to sailing on the Danube and Seine.

“We’re looking at worldwide rivers, we’re not just looking at Europe,” he said.

“We’ve got on our radar at the moment the Rhone, Douro in Portugal, we’re looking at the Amazon, we’re looking at Vietnam, we’re looking at the Great Lakes in the US, the Mississippi,” O’Connor revealed.

The Douro could be the first new cab off the rank, he added, with Trafalgar possibly targeting a 2029 arrival in Portugal.

The aggressive expansion could be realised in a number of ways, O’Connor added.

“We’re talking about buying ships, building ships, buying existing companies that operate smaller ships, so we’re very active,” he said, adding Trafalgar’s present “sweet spot” sits at around 10 vessels.

Trafalgar is also looking at adding shorter voyages to its mix, O’Connor said, with the cruise line currently selling mostly eight-10 day cruises. MS

Pictured is O’Connor with deputy CEO Melissa DaSilva.