River cruises not perceived as good value
The over 50s British traveller would be prepared to pay £1,200 for a 7-night river cruise, according to research from a media company.
But this figure is £300 lower than the average lead-in price of a four-star river cruise, said a report by Mail Metro Media.
Based on 20-minute interviews with 1,061 people, the research concluded that the expectations of consumers about what they get from a river cruise is lower than the reality.
When asked a direct question about the cost of river cruises, 80% of over 50s said they are expensive and only 20% believe they represent good value.
Ben Nealon, client partnerships director travel for the group, said the river cruise experience is clearly undervalued by consumers and that the sector has work to do in raising the awareness of the product.
The research found, for example, that although the majority of river cruises are all-inclusive, only 63% of consumers expect lunches to be included and only 35% expect to get free alcoholic drinks.
Just over half expect the price to include excursions and only 8% expect free use of bicycles – something which is often part of the all-inclusive package.
Educating clients about what’s included in a river cruise upfront price is key, said Nealon, particularly when 80% of the travellers questioned said price was a key consideration when booking a river cruise.
he next most important factor cited was countries visited (59%) followed by accommodation (55%), on board facilities (48%) and length of trip (also 48%).
The research found that of emerging destinations, 45% of over 50s said they wanted to do a river cruise in Russia, 25% in North America, 24% in Asia and 19% in South America.
When asked why they hadn’t yet taken a river cruise, 42% said they hadn’t got round to it, 38% said the ones they’d looked at were too expensive, 25% said there are other types of holiday they’d prefer, 19% said it’s not a ‘special occasion’ type of holiday, 15% said they didn’t know what to expect and 13% said they don’t feel ready for a river cruise yet.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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