Riviera Travel aims to follow up the launch of two new river ships next year by adding another one to the fleet every 18 months, says CEO Phil Hullah.
He was speaking to me after telling a 40th anniversary event held on Riviera’s ship Jane Austen in Paris that the group aimed to double its number of customers to 200,000 by 2030.
Part of that plan is the previously announced introduction of new ships Riviera Radiance on the Danube and Riviera Rose on the Douro next year.
Asked if others would follow, Mr Hullah said: ‘There will be more. I would say probably on average there will be a new ship every 18 months, maybe a bit more.’
Rivers where new ships could sail might include the Mekong and Nile as well as in Europe, he added. ‘Our guests do like to travel long-haul, we can really add value if you combine a cruise experience – coastal, ocean or river – with some kind of tour.’
American rivers are another potential destination. ‘It’s not a territory we know well, there are operators on the Mississippi, the Ohio or Lakes and they do nicely. When we think about expanding in the US we think about whether there are partners we could work with to help us with that. It’s a big opportunity.’
Whether this would be a partnership, or if Riviera would launch their own ships, Mr Hullah replied: ‘It could be either. If we can get the product right our UK guests would love it. It’s definitely on our list.’
On ocean cruising, Mr Hullah said Riviera would continue to explore different partnerships but they they had also considered building their own ship. ‘It’s a big capital investment. If we could find a partner to build it and we take a long-term lease, it could be an option so we’re working through that at the moment.’
Earlier, Mr Hullah talked guests – including media, travel and trade partners – through Riviera Travel’s history. The seeds were sown in 1981 when founder Michael Wright started off with five canvas tents on the south coast of France, but the company itself began three years later when he picked up 46 guests on the first tour from the Burton Mail head office in Burton upon Trent and bussed them down to the south coast. They got on the ferry and came to Paris for a three-night city break.
‘Then followed ten feverish years of expansion, all distribution at that point still via the regional press. At the peak I think there were 200 regional newspaper relationships,’ said Mr Hullah.
‘In 1992 Riviera had a big breakthrough when the team managed to crack national newspaper distribution and a full-page advert in the Sunday People managed to fill 35 coaches to Paris. Then followed long-standing relationships with the Guardian, Times, Mail and the Telegraph, all of which have stood the test of time and remain incredibly important to Riviera Travel today.
‘In 1994 came a move from coach travel to air, in 2006 long-haul was added to the armoury then in 2009 came the brave new frontier of river cruising. Lord Byron was the first ship specifically built for us by the Scylla team. In 2016 we went into ocean cruise.
‘Suffice to say, it’s quite a story over 40 years. From that first coach trip to 66 destinations worldwide, taking away 1.45million guests along the way. Riviera has obviously evolved and changed enormously since 1984 but at the heart the values and vision that we have remain consistent.
‘We’re here to provide exceptional holiday experiences for discerning guests in the world’s most interesting destinations. We have big ambitions and I’m incredibly excited about the next 40 years – though I can’t promise to be here for all of it!’
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