Amadeus River Cruises in 2019 is launching a series of
sailings for millennial travelers.
The six-day cruises will sail on the Danube, Rhine and
Rhone rivers, and each will be hosted by a well-known person on social media
who will facilitate a program onboard. The programs will be centered around
topics such as healthy living, fitness and nutrition.
Amadeus has formed a strategic partnership with Salt Lake
City-based Zaven Global, an incentive travel and promotion specialist, to
promote and launch the millennial cruises.
A marketing push will kick off with a spring 2018 sailing on
France's Rhone River on the Amadeus Provence, which will have the social media hosts
onboard.
While sales and marketing efforts will have officially started prior
to the sailing, Zaven Global expects that the majority of bookings will be
generated during or shortly after the spring cruise, when the social media
celebrities will be sharing and promoting their experience.
Names of the social media stars have not yet been released,
but will become public once the individuals start sharing their experiences
with their audience, which in most cases is millions of followers, according to
Amadeus.
"In working together with Amadeus River Cruises, we at
Zaven Global have created a platform in which the celebrity influencer benefits
from a new and exciting way to engage with their audience as they promote their
brand. ... We are excited to introduce river cruising to a new generation,"
stated Rob Bezdjian, president of Zaven Global.
Amadeus is the second river cruise line to go after the
millennial market. Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection has created U by
Uniworld, a millennial-focused river cruise line whose first cruises depart
this spring. Uniworld also used social media influencers to promote cruises.