Brinley Hineman
Viking just celebrated a huge milestone: welcoming its 100th ship to its fleet.
Travel Weekly managing editor Rebecca Tobin covered the ship-naming extravaganza in Basel, Switzerland, and as she reports, Viking is still committed to growth. It has 35 additional river ships in the works, along with 14 ocean ships.
As CEO and chairman Torstein Hagen put it: "I think on the rivers, our rate of growth has defined the demand."
I'd say he's right.
Viking's marketing prowess has proved instrumental in moving the river cruise industry from niche to mainstream. I've heard from travel advisors that some clients new to the travel style know only one brand. They know Viking from its television advertisements, and they want to experience it. This year, those loyalists helped effectively sell out the brand's cruise availability.
But a win for Viking is a win for the industry. As more travelers dip their toes into river cruising, it causes a ripple effect of growth. Those passengers learn about the breadth of the business. And the industry's success has spurred expansion from other brands, both established and new.
This year, we've seen close to 20 new river ships begin operations, with at least that many debuting next year. New brands will launch, including Trafalgar, which is expanding land-based operations to the river.
More ships and brands mean more itineraries, which mean more clients -- and in need of advisors who are river cruise experts. Advisors are already enjoying the river boom. According to the 2024 Travel Industry Survey, river cruises outside the U.S. was the second-biggest growth market for advisors: Bookings grew 63% year-over-year. Bookings for river cruises within the U.S. increased 47%.
The strong demand for river cruising is also sparking the industry to become global, moving outside of the main European rivers. During Viking's multiship naming ceremony, two vessels were based in Vietnam and two were in Egypt. By 2027, Viking hopes to have a dozen ships plying the Nile.
The cruise line will expand to India for the first time, while AmaWaterways expects to soon add a second ship to the Magdalena River in Colombia. Viva Cruises will put a ship on the Po River in Italy in 2027, where few other operators sail.