| Trafalgar’s river ramp up

CRUISE will grow in importance for The Travel Corporation (TTC) over the coming years, following the launch of river cruises with its Trafalgar brand late last week (CW yesterday).

Deputy chief executive officer Melissa DaSilva detailed the significant ramp-up of operations to Cruise Weekly, as Trafalgar works to ensure it keeps its guests travelling within its brand.

“We’ve now got a very robust plan that takes us through to 2030, where river cruise becomes more than 20% of our portfolio,” she explained.

“We know that people don’t take a tour every year, but they do love the brand, and they feel comfortable with the brand,” DaSilva said of Trafalgar.

“Our travel advisor partners are very loyal and sell our brand, but then when somebody comes in and wants a river cruise, we don’t have a product that’s going to allow them to do that.”

DaSilva said Trafalgar’s river cruises, currently consisting of a fleet of three ships, have already sold very well, with many passengers new to the brand.

“It’s not just about introducing our guided customers to river, but 60-plus-per cent of the customers that have booked on our inaugural year are new to Trafalgar,” she enthused.

“All of our trips are going to include pre- and post-excursions that you can add on, not just hotel stays, [and] as we move into ’27 and beyond, really thoughtfully deciding how we deploy our ships so that they match up with our tours.” MS

Pictured aboard Verity’s inaugural departure are TTC head of marketing Mia Hamzic, House of Travel general manager cruise Jeff Leckey, DaSilva, and Flight Centre head of product cruise & tour Tammy Marquet.