Northstar

www.travelweekly-asia.com 13 ITB ASIA Official Dailies | It's has been a busy year! Time to take a break with Dorsett Year-End Specials! Checkout the deals at dorsett.com BOOK NOW Promo Code: YES2014 Booking Period: 5 November 2014 to 11 January 2015 Stay Period: 12 December 2014 to 11 January 2015 (inclusive) Terms and Conditions apply Asian travellers are increasingly keen to cruise Europe's rivers – but they need to be enticed to book early or they risk missing the boat. To encourage Asians to book early, Avalon Waterways is offering special early booking deals for its 2015 season, limited to North Asian and South-east Asian passengers. It will also, for the first time, dedicate an entire ship to Asian travellers for Avalon Waterways' Christmas river cruise from December 14-22, 2015. The cruise, from Nuremberg to Vienna on the Danube, will have dedicated cruise guides conversant in Asian languages on board the 83-cabin Panorama Suite. "River cruising in Europe is very popular with the Asian markets especially (on) the Danube and Rhine rivers," said Raymond Smith, GSA business development manager for AVALON DEDICATES RIVER SHIP EXCLUSIVELY TO ASIAN TRAVELLERS By Ian Jarrett the Globus family of brands, of which Avalon Waterways is one. "France has the potential to be popular as well, but travellers from Asia, who have the tendency to book last minute, never get to go as the particular cruise is (usually) sold out." Smith said that while Avalon Waterways' river cruising is fast growing in popularity among Asian travellers, overall numbers remain small compared with more mature markets such as North America, Australia and New Zealand. Malaysia leads in Asia in terms of passenger volume on Avalon river cruise boats, followed by Hong Kong and South Korea. For next year's programme, Avalon Waterways will deploy two new vessels on the Rhone and Seine rivers, doubling the capacity of previous years. In Asia, the river cruise operator is also introducing its inaugural itineraries for Myanmar. Christian Schweitzer, Avalon Waterways' marketing manager Australasia, says growth in river cruising has been "phenomenal" in recent years and its appeal has been spreading into wider demographics. "River cruising has traditionally appealed to mature travellers, but the average age of travellers has come down noticeably as its popularity has grown," he said. "In 2008 the average age of Avalon's passengers was 68, and by 2012 it had reduced to 63. We estimate it is now around 60 years and might still be trending down. "It's now common to see passengers in their 50s, 40s and even 30s on a river cruise. Sometimes you'll see several generations of the one family travelling together in multiple cabins." Schweitzer said Avalon expects mature travellers to continue to represent the majority among passengers because "they have the time and the means to take river cruises." Avalon cruising through Budapest. produCt: Cruise

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