Wasn’t that a sailing!
It was a satisfied and educated group of 110 Canadian travel advisors who disembarked from the Avalon Passion in Vilshoften, Germany, on 04NOV.
The group embarked in Budapest for the second ACTA Avalon River Cruise Summit, where we were joined by a team of partners and hosts from ACTA, Avalon, Manulife and Air Canada.
The week-long sailing took us through four countries: Hungary, Slovakia, Austria and Germany (and if someone opted for an excursion to Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic, five!)
Participants came from almost every region across Canada, including advisors who were experienced river cruisers and newbies, even some who had never been to Europe.
During the 8-day event, we had the opportunity to experience many of the full- or half-day tours that clients would enjoy: a combination of Avalon’s “Classic” guided city walking tours with “Active” (usually biking/hiking) and “Discovery” (culinary/learning options such as cooking classes) – all included in the price of an Avalon cruise.
Avalon President Pam Hoffee attended the summit to indicate the importance of the Canadian market. In a meeting with the media, she outlined some of the company’s priorities.
“Canadians tend to book longer river cruises, such as our two week itineraries. Overall, the booking windows are long: For example, we launched 2026 in April this year. In the past it would have been not until the fall. We plan similar timing for launching 2027.” Avalon currently has 15 ships, the majority in Europe, which range in capacity from 128 to 166 pax (102 on Portugal’s Douro River, where 2025 has sold out already).
The company is also dedicated to making the cruises more sustainable, with the recent elimination of single-use plastics; coaches and guides all hired locally; the AvalonGO app outlines daily agendas, excursions, menus, city attractions and more (reducing paper); more vineyard-to-table partnerships; and itineraries are designed to minimize fuel consumption.
Hoffee added, “We have a strong relationship with ACTA; they are such a great advocate for the advisors, who are our lifeblood. This Summit is a wonderful event for us and the ROI is very positive.”
The Summit also included an informative and enlightening update from ACTA. Advisors were reminded that ACTA’s role is to advocate for them with government and suppliers, and educate, promote and connect.
The association has a variety of goals which the advisors on board clearly concurred with. They include: processing commission at time of final payment; paying commission on non-refundable amounts; and encouraging suppliers not to use NCFs. Another goal that received great applause: safeguarding the advisor-client relationship -- with suppliers agreeing not to market directly to clients using the booking information they collect.
Also of note: ACTA offers a Travel Advisor Essentials course for newbies. And non-members can attend its Summits for free; these happen three times a year in various Canadian cities.
Staff from the Globus family of brands, parent company of Avalon, also hosted PD sessions on topics such as switching your ocean-cruising clients to river cruises; selling groups (as few as eight on Avalon); and creating content that sells.
But it wasn’t all “work”. Everyone went all-out for the Halloween party and the red-and-black-themed night.
It was clear advisors were thrilled with the event and very appreciative. “I absolutely loved the Discovery excursions – so immersive, from the fun of riding the subway in Vienna to visiting the apricot farm and meeting the farmer,” said TTAND advisor Jennifer Jones of Georgina, Ont.
Added Shawna Flinkert of Travel Best Buys in Vancouver, “I loved that you can simply come and go off the ship as you please. Everything is very classy – and you get to know everybody, and the crew gets to know you too. I’m definitely sold on river cruising.” And Kendra Armstrong of Kaleidoscope Travel in Strathmore, Alta. loved the bike tour in the Wachau Valley. “Going into undiscovered villages – and discovering it all with a local. It’s my favourite memory.”
For me, I have to say how much I appreciated the kindness and hospitality of the crew. It’s clear Avalon, where the passenger: crew ratio is 3:1, wants guests to feel at home and “part of the family." As an example, the catering team did a walk-through in the restaurant along with more senior staff, and we got to applaud the two smiling guys who did the dishes. Family indeed!
When you see notification for next year’s Summit, you might want to think about signing up quickly. It’s sure to be a sellout that will give you new business tools, new contacts - and new friends.
