Travel Village Group Business Owners celebrated their graduation at CLIA RiverView Conference 2025 in Budapest having completed the first TVG River Cruise Academy – devised by Business Development Manager Amanda Taylor and Group Commercial Manager Richard Cross following the CLIA RiverView Conference 2024 in Amsterdam.
The six-month programme included in-person and virtual training events, FAM trips onboard river cruises, plus a graduation event at the CLIA RiverView Conference 2025 in Budapest. The group also completed the online training programme for all partners which included AmaWaterways, APT, Scenic and Uniworld.
Amanda Taylor, Holiday Village Business Development Manager, said:
Our Business Owners have been fully immersed in our River Cruise Academy for the past 6 months. We have had a minimum of 8 virtual training sessions and all members have completed the online training available from our supplier partners, who have been fully committed to our programme. We are truly grateful for the support they have given. We have already seen growth in our River Cruise sales, which is exciting to see and fully validates the purpose of the Academy. Whilst graduation is a milestone in the programme, we will be continuing with more insight to River Cruising; ‘Finding your Market’ and ‘Marketing Assets’ sessions will follow graduation to ensure we retain continued focus.
The River Cruise Academy trainees graduated following the CLIA Riverview Conference in Budapest. This, in itself, was an ideal opportunity for the Business Owners to experience several different river cruise ships, business sessions with river trends and “What’s Coming”. In addition, they gained first-hand experience into what it’s like to spend a night on a variety of different ships.
Dawn Quinn from Uniworld Boutique River Cruises said:
We were delighted to support bespoke training with the Travel Village Group River Cruise Academy. At Uniworld, we are committed to empowering our key partners with the knowledge and tools they need to grow their river cruise business. The Travel Village Group team consistently goes above and beyond to ensure new-to-river agents feel confident in selling this incredible sector, and we are proud to support their efforts.
Lewis Quigley from Emerald & Scenic Cruises added:
The Travel Village Group’s exciting River Cruise Academy has really enabled their team members, who want to focus on river cruise, to develop their knowledge and understanding of the market segment, and highlight each supplier’s USPs to target the right river cruise for the right client. We were delighted to host some of the River Cruise Academy team on board Scenic Opal for an amazing voyage along the Danube River, to showcase our ultra-luxury, truly all-inclusive experience – a journey that was rounded-off with an exclusive dining experience at the incredible Table La Rive.
Richard Cross, Travel Village Group Commercial Manager, remarked:
The initial idea came following a discussion Amanda and I had at CLIA RiverView Conference in Amsterdam back in 2024 where we noticed an opportunity for our team to learn more about an ever-growing niche product. The online courses, along with in-person and virtual training plus the experience of a FAM trip allowed our business owners to fully immerse themselves in the river cruise product from a consumer perspective. We would like to thank our river cruise partners for their contribution to the TVG River Cruise Academy. Without their support, we simply would not have been able to do it. We have already witnessed an increase in enquiries and bookings from those in the Academy, plus many our Business Owners have seen more interest from their clients on the back of social posts from their onboard FAM trip experience.
Lynne Page, Holiday Village Business Owner and Academy Graduate, was elated by the enhancement to her product offering:
I feel extremely lucky and grateful to have had the chance to be part of the first River Cruise Academy with Travel Village Group. My knowledge and confidence in bringing the experience of River Cruising to my clients has increased massively. I have hosted one in-person event and an online event and bookings are now starting to come in, which I am thrilled about. The support has been amazing and I am now a river cruise convert as well as an expert!
Holiday Village Business Owner and Academy Graduate, Heather Tarrant commented:
I joined The Travel Village Group River Cruise Academy as I am passionate about River Cruising and saw the opportunity as a great way to increase my confidence, brand awareness and experience, which in turn further enhances the service I offer my clients.
The intake for the Travel Village Group River Cruise Academy 2025 will be invited soon to continue the momentum.
