Travel Trends with Dan Christian
#1 B2B Travel Podcast. If you are looking to stay ahead in the travel industry, this new podcast hits all the highlights! The Travel Trends Podcast is where industry leaders converge to share & shape the future. Whether you're an emerging entrepreneur, a seasoned industry executive, or a dedicated travel professional, you’ll be able to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving landscape.
Uncover valuable insights, innovative strategies, and meaningful connections that will elevate your travel business or career to new heights.
Travel Trends with Dan Christian
Crafting Luxury River Experiences with Scenic
Discover how Scenic has redefined river cruising by introducing the industry's first ships with outdoor private balconies. Lisa McCaskill, VP of Sales and Marketing for Scenic Canada, shares the inspiring story of how this Australian-founded company evolved from a land touring operator into a global leader in luxury river cruising - all by listening closely to guest feedback.
Scenic's "spaceships" deliver an ultra-luxury, truly all-inclusive experience where guests can enjoy fine dining, premium beverages, excursions, and gratuities without worrying about additional costs. Their sister brand, Emerald Cruises, offers a more customizable "inclusive modern luxury" experience, catering to travelers who prefer to tailor additional options to their preferences.
Lisa highlights Scenic's onboard amenities, such as multiple dining options, including Crystal Dining and the exclusive Table La Rive, as well as wellness features like the innovative Salt Therapy Lounge. She also discusses popular itineraries, like the Amsterdam to Budapest route that’s ideal for first-time cruisers and the increasingly sought-after Douro River cruises in Portugal, which often sell out well in advance.
The conversation also covers how Scenic markets its experiences through a combination of travel advisor partnerships, informational sessions, and television programming. Additionally, Lisa sheds light on the company’s sustainability initiatives and its expansion into new destinations like Southeast Asia with purpose-built ships tailored for those waters.
Whether you're an avid river cruise traveler or considering your first voyage, this offers a captivating look at the thoughtful innovations and authentic luxury driving the growth of this unique travel segment.
👉 Listen to Crafting Luxury River Experiences Now
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The #1 B2B Travel Podcast Globally. Over 100 Episodes. Listeners in 125 countries. New Episodes Every Weds. Season 5 In Progress.
https://www.traveltrendspodcast.com/
Funny enough, in the early early days Zenith got into the river cruise space by chartering our competitors and when he chartered them the guest said you know what I love the river cruise experience, but I would have loved to have had an outdoor balcony like I had when I was on Holland America to Alaska when I did the land tour programs in Western Canada. And so Glenn looked around and there were no ships that had an outdoor private balcony back then. So that's when he decided to build his own ships. So we were the first in the market to build an outdoor private balcony 135 meter long ship and introduced it into the marketplace.
Speaker 2:Hello everyone and welcome to the latest episode of Travel Trends. This is your host, dan Christian, and I'm excited to continue our deep dive into the world of river cruises brought to us in partnership by our friends at Captio. That's K-A-P-T-I-O. We had Ragnar, the founder of Captio, join us for episode one, where we talked about the growth of this category, and then we had Steve Spivak from Tauk join us for episode two to talk about how Tauk has entered the River Cruise space. Of course, they are in touring as well, and they're a key partner of Captio and one of the main reasons why Captio has expanded into the River Cruise space.
Speaker 2:Now, today we're going to be featuring Lisa McCaskill, who is the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Scenic Canada, and there was a couple of reasons I wanted to have Lisa as part of this series. One reason is that we had Scenic as part of our Ocean Cruise series last year in Season 4. And as we prepared this series, we put back-to-back our Guided Touring series and then our River Cruise series, of which Scenic operates in all three, and so I wanted to get their perspective on river cruising and how it relates to the other categories. And the second reason I wanted to have Lisa on is because we had Ben Hall from AT Kings joining us from Australia in our guided touring series and I wanted to have a Canadian representative to highlight some of the unique aspects of the Canadian market, given our global podcast. I wanted to highlight some of the unique aspects of the Canadian market, given our global podcast. I wanted to highlight some of the commonalities between the English language source markets, and one of the things that you'll hear us talk about is how many of the marketing techniques, including the use of morning shows, which is a big reason of how scenic got to the scale they are today in Australia, how that applied to Canada and other markets as well. So I wanted to highlight some of the commonalities and bring together a few of the biggest industry players in the river cruise space, and next week we're going to be hearing from Pamela Avalon, so stay tuned for that as well.
Speaker 2:Now, before we bring Lisa in the conversation, I just wanted to recognize the team at Captio for sponsoring this series. Many of our listeners are in this space. So if you're looking for the most modern travel technology solution that will help you simplify selling and operating multi-day travel experiences, whether it be from river cruise cabins to train cars. Then you have to connect with the team at Captio. Their whole focus is transforming how tour operators design, sell and manage these complex multi-day travel experiences, and they offer the most unified, scalable platform that will really empower your travel brand to streamline operations, improve bookings and customer service. So reach out to them for more details.
Speaker 2:And, lastly, I just wanted to remind everyone that we have officially announced our AI Summit for 2025, which is happening October 28th and 29th. Virtually, you can join from anywhere in the world. You can pre-register now at TravelTrendsPodcastcom. We have just announced an amazing lineup of incredible speakers to join us for the event. Our agenda will go live shortly and then early bird tickets as well, so be sure to check that out and plan to join us if you're interested in understanding how AI is transforming our travel industry. There's going to be best in class use cases from startups and established brands, and a whole variety of really informative sessions that is intended to benefit the global travel industry. So we're really looking forward to bringing you our V2 of this event. And then, of course, we post clips and highlights from all these conversations, including today's with Lisa, on our social channels, so be sure to check out LinkedIn, youtube and Instagram at Travel Trends Podcast, we'll be right back.
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Speaker 2:Our longtime listeners will be very familiar with TravelAIcom, one of our sponsors from the very beginning. They've sponsored the last two seasons and also our AI Summit. You might actually remember they were recently featured in season four. The two co-founders, john Liotier and Chris Jensen live from Focusrite, where they shared how their innovative use of AI is reshaping the travel industry. If you missed it, we highly recommend going back to hear their inspiring story of building one of the fastest growing, profitable AI companies in travel entirely bootstrapped.
Speaker 2:Travel AI is revolutionizing the industry by blending AI power deficiency with personalized, human centered travel experiences, from micro segmentation to tailored travel solutions. Their mission is to enhance every traveler's journey while setting the pace for travel's future. Here's how you can join the exciting mission. If you or someone you know in tech or AI is looking for a new career that combines innovation and impact, then head to TravelAIcom or follow them on LinkedIn to explore more opportunities. They are growing fast. Thanks again for your continued support. And now back to the show fast. Thanks again for your continued support and now back to the show. Now let's bring Lisa into the conversation and continue our deep dive into the world of river cruises and understand everything that's happening over at Scenic. Lisa, it's great to have you on the show. Thanks so much for joining us.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for having us, dan, it's really great.
Speaker 2:For sure. I'm thrilled to have Scenic part of our river cruise series and I want everyone to learn a little bit more about the company and certainly your role. Why don't we start there? So tell everyone a little bit about your role at Scenic and maybe a quick overview of the company.
Speaker 1:Yep, absolutely. So. Basically, at the end of the day, I'm the market leader for Canada for Scenic Group Canada division Focus on the inbound part of the business as well as the outbound business reservations sales team, but my main focus is truly on sales and marketing and selling our products to Canadians. The company itself is approaching almost 40 years in business, if you can believe it. We're Australian founded and Glenn Maroney a private owner from the very start, and he started his business in the touring business and then expanded into river cruising in 2008 when he decided to build his own river cruise ships. And from that we've expanded. And when he started building those river cruise ships, he kind of identified that Australia couldn't be the only market to fill them, so hence he opened up offices in other parts of the world to become a global, international company.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's great.
Speaker 2:I appreciate that context and for all of our listeners, as we had our multi-day tour series and now our river cruise series, I was keen to have Scenic as part of the conversation for exactly the reason that Lisa just mentioned, which is that you were in the tour space.
Speaker 2:You've expanded into river cruise, you have ocean as well, and today obviously, we're going to focus on river. But the other reason I was keen to have Lisa on this is because you heard from Ben Hall, who runs 80 Kings in Australia, and, given the global nature of our show, I actually thought it was an ideal opportunity to take an Australian company with a Canadian office and a Canadian perspective and for you, of course, lisa, to be able to share everything about Scenic for our global audience, but specifically some interesting things about the Canadian market as well that I know will interest our second largest audience. And so, when it comes to this industry, tell us a little bit about how you actually got into the cruise industry. I know you've got an impressive background outside of this industry, but tell us a bit about what brought you into tourism and, specifically, the opportunity with Scenic.
Speaker 1:Well, just a funny side note there. I didn't realize yet that you had interviewed Ben Hall. So Ben Hall and I trained together with Contiki in Europe in 1995 and have been lifelong friends since then.
Speaker 1:So I would say, if we were really to look at my beginnings, that came from tourism and came from my time in Contiki and really started the foundation of the groundwork. And then when I came back to Canada I joined Rocky Mountaineer and at that point in time Scenic was my client at Rocky and a few years almost 10 years with my time at Rocky, Scenic kind of stole me and brought me over. And that was the touring side to start with and then, as I've described, with the organization, we went into the river cruising and the cruising side. So that's kind of the evolution of how that happened. But I think what I love about the cruising side of the business is just how dynamic it is and innovative and it's ever changing and that's really what's kept me going and kept me at the organization too well, it's really interesting.
Speaker 2:You mentioned rocky mountaineer, because many travelers are certainly familiar with the idea of doing a rocky mountaineer trip and you obviously know this from your time there and then doing an alaskan cruise and that combination of two trips and it's it's very much the spirit of how we created these two deep dives back to back, because so many travelers are doing a multi-day tour and they're doing a river cruise and so many companies operate in both spaces, and Scenic being one of those, tauch being another that people have heard from on this series and Globus, of course, with Avalon, that they've heard from in the series as well.
Speaker 2:So this is where having Scenic part of the conversation was really important to me, but also your background, the fact that you understand what consumers are looking for when they're looking for that rail journey, the ocean cruise. But when it comes to river, I wanted to make sure, as part of this series, that we're speaking to, whether it's travel agents or even travelers that are new to river cruising, and so, for those people that have not been on a river cruise but are intrigued by the concept, how would you describe the experience?
Speaker 1:So I describe it as a relaxed and intimate way to explore a region. It's especially great for travelers who are looking for a cultural immersion without the hassle of packing and unpacking. You know, touring is great, but obviously you're moving into a different hotel every few nights. So, being on the river cruise, you unpack once, enjoy the journey and don't pack again till the end. And, unlike ocean cruising, river cruising is smaller Often there's fewer than 200 guests in particular and it creates a more personal, low-key kind of atmosphere and a very intimate experience. And it's excellent for people that might have a little bit of seasickness if they were to go on an ocean cruise, because it's such a flat-level river experience and no big waves that people can worry about.
Speaker 2:And so I'm glad you mentioned that because, as some of our listeners may have heard, I had some apprehensions initially because, about being on the water, I'm not an ocean cruiser. I've taken two river cruises and not had any issue whatsoever, and so I'm almost tempted to ocean now. But I love the experience of a river cruise. But the one thing I definitely am not familiar with from the outside, looking in. I certainly have done quite a bit of research on your website and talking to colleagues in anticipation of our interview today to talk about Scenic, and one of the things I always like to get into is what sets Scenic apart. And obviously you have Scenic, you have Emerald and I know you guys are luxury and five stars, so give everyone a bit of an overview of how Scenic differentiates itself in the marketplace.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So from a Scenic point of view we're an all-inclusive ultra-luxury experience and from an emerald point of view, we're an inclusive, modern luxury experience. So, for example, I guess first it comes down to our ships and our spaceships and the designs of those. So we touched on just earlier about being an intimate experience. For scenic, for example, there's only 163 guests maximum on board, whereas with Emerald it's 180 guests on board. Culinary experience scenic has multiple dining options. On board ship Emerald Cruises kind of has its main one dining area and then excursions and tour options. Both have excursions and tour options and experiences to choose from. On the scenic side of things, everything is fully all-inclusive and Emerald allows you to really customize and choose what you would like to do on your journey.
Speaker 2:Just for context, since you mentioned the business started in touring, just remind everyone when scenic got into the river cruise space.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So, funny enough, in the early early days, scenic got into the river cruise space by chartering our competitors because it was identified to Glenn at that time that you know, river cruising was kind of the thing that was starting to come on the radar. You know, touring had always been there and primarily our guests were Australian at that time and they wanted to continue to travel with scenic. But what was next and what was the next destination? And his product manager at the time highlighted river cruising. So what he did is he chartered ships. And when he chartered them the guest said you know what I love the river cruise experience, but I would have loved to have had an outdoor balcony, like I had when I was on Holland America to Alaska, when I did the land tour programs in Western Canada. And so Glenn looked around and there were no ships that had an outdoor private balcony back then. So that's when he decided to build his own ships.
Speaker 1:So we were the first in the market to build an outdoor private balcony 135 meter long ship and introduced it into the marketplace. And that was in 2008,. From a scenic point of view and again taking feedback from our guests, they said you know what I love the balcony, but I went in April or I went in October and you know it was a bit cold and a bit rainy, and so I didn't get the full experience of it. So then, a few years after that, we decided to enclose the balcony and turn it into a scenic sun lounge. So at a touch of a button, you know, your window can go up and down, so that then you can have the balcony experience year round. So when we introduced Emerald Cruises in 2014, we started off obviously having an enclosed balcony experience from the very beginning.
Speaker 2:Right, and now I know you operate primarily in Europe, but you also have Southeast Asia covered, with Cambodia and Vietnam, and I want to hear a bit about that because that's the highest on my list of the regions I want to explore by river. I've spent quite a bit of time in that region traveling by land and I definitely need to experience it from the river. But let's talk a little bit about Europe first, since obviously that's where the new ships you know, obviously the chartering, as you mentioned and the new ships were introduced. So tell us a little bit about the ships that you operate in Europe and the main rivers and waterways that you focus your itineraries on.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, so the bulk of really the capacity in the ship experience is on the Rhine, mine and Danube rivers and that really is partially because there are still a number of first-time river cruisers out there and they truly like to be introduced to that main river cruise experience, primarily Amsterdam to Budapest and covering all that in destination.
Speaker 1:So that's where a majority of our inventory in the ships are. But we also have ships on the scenic side in Bordeaux, we have a ship in the south of France and we also have a ship on the Seine and then on the Emerald experience we also have a ship in the south of France and we also have a ship on the Seine and then on the Emerald Experience we also have a ship in the south of France. And then both brands again have kind of one of my favorite European destinations and that's Portugal. It really is an undiscovered kind of destination that people are starting to find and we find our Portugal Douro River Cruise experiences and ships book out immediately. You know you need to book those at least 18 months to a year in advance Because, again, a smaller ship, more intimate experience and only one ship for each brand in that destination, so many of our loyalty. Guests will take that as one of their next destinations.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's interesting you mentioned that because Portugal has been on the up and coming for many years. It seems like people are still just discovering Portugal. It's still an affordable destination. It's like one of the top European destinations. It amazes me because it's a beautiful part of Europe but given that it's kind of tucked away on the coast on the other side of Spain and most people focus on Central Europe, less people get there. So it's clear why that happens. But it's interesting, as you point out, that it's still an emerging destination, despite the fact that being such a well-developed tourism destination, we'll be right back Attention travel operators, destination management companies and accommodation providers.
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Speaker 2:And now back to the show. Don't think they would want to take an ocean cruise and I'd put myself in that category. And so I actually partly. I wanted to do that series for that exact reason, so I could get a better understanding of the industry River cruising I have a much better appreciation for having worked in that space and traveled in that space.
Speaker 2:But I'm sure there's many listeners out there that are first looking at scenic and trying to figure out what river, what ship. And the one thing I think is beautiful about river cruising is that the companies that are active in this space really match the ship to the destination, the decor, the cuisine. So tell us, if someone's looking at your website for the first time and everyone can be checking out Scenic, depending where you are in the world Canadians will be scenicca, I know it's sceniceu, but Google search Scenic. You'll find the website uh, scenic river cruises. What would you say to those people who are looking at your business for the first time, trying to figure out what river should I go on, where should I go first? What ship should I take?
Speaker 1:Yeah. So, um, I would say to you that Amsterdam to Budapest itinerary, which is 14 nights in duration for either brand, is our most popular, and I would suggest it as the first because it it gives you that broad range of a number of different countries that you're traveling to and destinations on the river. It takes it out a bit more of a relaxed pace for people to kind of get into the groove and it highlights, perhaps, destinations that you would want to go back to, and two weeks is a really great length of time. It's not too short, you know, rushing everything within just seven, eight days, but not too long that you feel like, oh, is this going to keep going on? So, from a destination point of view, I think Amsterdam to Budapest would be a great place for people to start. If we look at the actual product itself, if we start with an Emerald River Cruise experience, as I was mentioning before, you know, maximum 180 guests on board, so that smaller, more intimate ship experience You've got from an Emerald point of view, you can customize your program a little bit more. So, for example, it's inclusive, but it's not a fully all-inclusive experience. So, just to give you an example, you have walking tours that are included each day. But if you wanted to deep dive into more of our culture experiences, then they're called Discover Mores and you pay an additional amount to do that. Discover Mores and you pay an additional amount to do that. People like that because perhaps they've been to Vienna before and they don't need to do the included coach tour that you always feel you have to do because you've already paid for it. So it allows them to customize and do things a little differently.
Speaker 1:Both brands have bicycles on tour that guests can take them at any time. Brands have bicycles on tour that guests can take them at any time. There's also organized bike tours themselves and the walking tours and a culinary experience that is matching what you're going through on the rivers in the destination. So from a food point of view as well as from a wine point of view, for example, that guests can experience, and on emerald you have wine, beer and soft drink. That's included at lunch and dinner. But if you'd like to have a cocktail in the evening, you know you pay additional for that and people like that if perhaps they're not big drinkers and they go. You know what. I only need to have a glass of wine with my meal and I think one of the most key things as well from Scenic and Emerald's point of view being inclusive is that all gratuities are included and that's not just for the staff that's on ship, that's also for all the touring guides and the drivers and everything for your whole package together.
Speaker 1:When we look at it from a scenic point of view, this is a fully all-inclusive experience.
Speaker 1:So Canadians resonate very well with that. They get all-inclusive and it was funny it was only in I think it was 2010 from a scenic point of view for River, where we finally made it fully all-inclusive from a beverage point of view and all of that and sales from Canada increased dramatically and I think it's because they guess understanding Canadian when they go to a resort that's all-inclusive or what that means. It means they don't have to constantly put their hand in their pocket. You know they can put the credit card away. We don't ask for your credit card when you book at the front desk or, sorry, when you board at the front desk. So it has that feel every. So that means every beverage that you decide to have on board. We have butler service, we have a few different culinary experiences that are available to the guests and then all of your excursions and all your sightseeing is also included as well. So that's kind of a overview, I guess, of the two different brands and the river cruise experience in Europe.
Speaker 2:Well, I think one thing that stood out to me was the highlighting a two-week itinerary, which I'm sure some people listening to this are like I need two weeks. And the answer. I'm going to just add to this because both the river cruises we took were one week and every time but both times I should say you just leave you wanting more and I was so envious of the people that were going on for another week or adding it to another itinerary. So to your point about having two weeks that is ideal. That is like the right amount of time to really be able to unpack, unwind, leave everything at home and actually have a proper vacation. I think most people prefer to have two weeks, if they can do so. So that's definitely a good suggestion, because I for sure know that people would be missing out if they only just had a week. But obviously you offer shorter itineraries as well, but that's certainly an ideal place to start.
Speaker 2:The other thing you mentioned a number of the differentiators, and I'm glad that you did, because I've worked really closely with Global Journeys over the past year and we've hired up their team and they all listen to the show and they've become big fans of Travel Trends, which I greatly appreciate, but they also have suggestions for questions when I'm seeing them in the office and for them and many other travel agents listening to this, I know Scenic is very connected to the travel agent community. You've put a lot of time and investment there and I know you have trained that team and any community. You've put a lot of time and investment there and I know you have trained that team, and any travel agency that's listening to this knows scenic and your team has likely done training. But there may be some independent agents that are listening to this and that's why I want to make sure I bring everyone on the journey, to make sure that I'm asking the questions of you today, lisa, that they're thinking that they want to know, based on how they need to be able to answer questions for their guests. And so the question I wanted to ask you is about when you think about luxury.
Speaker 2:One of the things that certainly goes with that is personalization, and so when travel agents are trusting scenic to be able to send their guests on a scenic experience and they're very much into the five star and even, as you described it, sort of the intimate experience of being on a luxury ship how does scenic ultimately deliver on that? And specifically, I guess what I'm asking is that level of personalization. How much personalization can you achieve? Obviously you've got a smaller staff to guest ratio, so that's very helpful, but take us through some of those examples of how you can actually personalize a guest experience and, I guess, appeal to different types of travelers.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so we tend to believe that we have something for every personality.
Speaker 1:So whether it's the adventure and doing the bike tours or the hiking tours, so we have either brand, whether it's an inclusive or discover more on.
Speaker 1:Emerald Cruises has the opportunity for a more active experience on board, so that kind of looks after the adventurer and then you know the foodie, with the multiple dining venues on board, scenic, as well as going through the different destinations France, portugal it really gets to experience from a foodie point of view, music, you know absolutely you're traveling through Vienna and beautiful classical music, areas of that Immersive walking. Everything also has a cultural kind of angle to it and, most importantly, we try to be very authentic and bring some localization into it. We try to be very authentic and bring some localization into it, so everything from. For example, one of the Discovering Plus experiences that's included with Emerald Cruises is a hosted coffee and cake with a local family, so you kind of get to meet some of the locals, both brands. We bring local entertainers on board ship during the journey so that guests can can get that authentic flavor and and, as we all know, in the travel industry that's what people are looking for these days.
Speaker 2:The one thing that certainly stood out to me when I'm looking at the suites I mean, they're certainly luxurious and that obviously is key to the experience but some of the other additional features that is unique to scenic. One of them is this is this salt therapy lounge, which really appeals to me. Tell me a bit more about that, because that's certainly something I'd like to experience the next time I'm on a river cruise, specifically with Scenic.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I didn't realize it either until we introduced it, but the remedy that comes from the salt therapy is to help with relaxation. It's also help with respiratory. So we introduced it into our ships a number of years ago and have tried to highlight to guests it's a super place to go to try and get over jet lag. So at the beginning of your, of your journey, and you know, you wear your clothes and your rope and everything and you just really for about 15-20 minutes, lie in the salt therapy lounge, which is available for all guests to enjoy on scenic and and you know, meditate, bring in the, the smells and just the, the overall relaxation and calming of your respiratory system. And it's amazing how you come out of that kind of feeling a little perky, that you feel that you've had a bit of a kick in yourself to keep going and get over that jet lag and go on to the next destination.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I know, and then sit at the top of the ship and be able to watch the world go by and then decide what you're going to have for dinner. Because I know one of the big features too is all the different dining options you have. You're already speaking about some of the, I guess, the free choice options that certainly appeal to different types of travelers active, moderate, relaxed and that's something I know that comes up a lot, that certain people are more active and want to be active, and other travelers my aunt being an example was concerned that one of these river cruise itineraries was going to be too active and she wasn't going to be up for it. So it's it's.
Speaker 2:It's so hard to try and cater to everyone. That's why I wanted to ask you that question. But on the cuisine side, tell us a little bit more about that, because the dining options obviously are quite varied. So it's not as if they're going to a buffet dinner, um, but tell us a little bit more about the, the dining experiences on board and how that can be personalized, because the one thing I was amazed when I was on my river cruise was that there was like three or four different types of bacon. I've never been, it's just like you know there's depending on how you like your bacon prepared, for example. So, um, and it pleased everybody, so everyone had their choice. But, yeah, tell us a little dining experience.
Speaker 1:Yeah, really from a scenic point of view. So our main dining room is called Crystal Dining and that does fit all guests on board at the same time if they all choose to eat at the same time and there's no set. You know that you have to come at this time period for your reservation, like there is on large ocean cruise lines. You know there's a time period that you show up for your dining, and so for breakfast and for lunch there is the buffet option, because people kind of like that sometimes because they want to. You know kind of go and pick what they'd like and have a quick breakfast and then get going. But there is always a la carte options as well for both breakfast and lunch, and then in the evening it is a full a la carte dinner and introduced by the chef each evening to recognize the destinations that we're traveling through and then pair wines with that as well. So that's the main dining room, but in addition to that we have a dining venue called Portobello's on our main Rhine-Main and Danube River Cruise ships and this is kind of an intimate for only 32 guests and it has an Italian theme tasting menu and all guests are invited to that at least once during their journey on board ship. So it gives a bit of a break from main crystal dining and makes all the guests feel a little bit special. And then for our guests that are on our top deck, in our larger suites, we have Table Le Rive, which is a degustation experience. Only 10 guests each evening at Table Le Rive and this is a special chef's tasting menu and paired with the sommelier and different wines. So that's multiple from kind of that kind of dining experience in the evening.
Speaker 1:But one of the really, really popular things that guests didn't really realize they were missing until we added it to our ships, and that is the River Cafe. So the River Cafe is open in the morning for kind of like a light breakfast for guests who are early risers, so they're maybe still getting over jet lag or they usually get up at 6am in the morning and want to have breakfast. So there's pastries and there's, you know, scrambled eggs and a lighter fare fruit, healthy smoothies, coffee, tea, all of that. And then from then on until evening, dinner service, river Cafe has got a lighter fare and sandwiches and pasta of the day and salads and pastries and gelato, salads and pastries and gelato. So you will find that.
Speaker 1:You know, if you're having just a little peckish experience and you want a little something during the day I have to say I love the gelato. I seem to have one every day while I'm on board River Cafe is perfect to go to. The other thing we'll do with you on River Cafe is that we'll pack you a little picnic if you wanted to go off on your own Again appeals to the adventurer, the guests that don't want to be part of a kind of guided group experience Take our bicycles. We'll pack you a picnic lunch from River Cafe and go in and enjoy your afternoon. So it really is a true variety for guests to enjoy on board.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was thinking when you mentioned the bike tours, because that's one of the things that the ships move so slowly down the river that you can actually bike and meet up with the ship a little later down the river, which was one of the things that surprised me.
Speaker 2:As we talk about the guest experience, one of the things I'd certainly like to highlight to our listeners. For those, if you were to kind of close your eyes and reopen them again and you're now on a scenic ship, take us a little bit through the onboard experience. I know we've discussed the dining and the spas and the rooms, but what I'm specifically asking here is about the profile of the guests and sort of what the onboard experience is like, so that someone that is considering a scenic trip, whether it be from Australia or Canada or the US or different age groups or different traveler types, take us through the types of people you might meet on a scenic and really kind of. I guess what I'm trying to get to is you know who is scenic, for I know it's for a wide audience but, yeah, take us through what the experience looks like, the type of people you might meet on a scenic ship and who really I guess you're marketing to with these. You know, amazing river cruise experiences.
Speaker 1:Well, so I would say to you and I know I'm a little bit biased, but I would say to you that one of the key differentiators between Scenic of Scenic and Emerald Cruises compared to the other companies out there is the fact that we do have guests from all over the world. So the fact that we're Australian founded and then we opened our global offices after that, you do find on board that you've got some Aussies, you've got some Brits, you've got some Canadians and you have some Americans, and you know, from a Canadian point of view, I think that's really appreciated more than ever. And just having the different type of experience to have with different travelers from around the world, so that is something very key and very unique. I would say to both Scenic and Emerald the lounge area is the kind of heart of everything on ship, no matter which brand that you're traveling on, and this is where people gather for beverages or they sit and watch the world go by and we have different activities um talks by the cruise director, whether that's history or about the sightseeing that you're seeing along the way.
Speaker 1:This is where we bring in our local entertainment or our local expert also to give some some talks and things and port talks every evening to kind of talk to you about, um, what is coming up in the next days ahead to make you prepared and what you're going to experience the next day.
Speaker 1:And, of course, in the evening, the opportunity with some music and disco or trivia or or whatever that means from your question on on who, demographic wise, you know, we do find that our guests are 60, 65 plus on both brands, but, as I said, there is that variety of excursions so that you can have any kind of traveler on board. And even from those that you were talking about, your mom was perhaps a little concerned, you know, with the walking groups a little concerned. You know, with the walking groups, for example, we even pair them into a bit slower walking group and a bit faster walking group when you're paired with the local guides. Or, you know, if a guest doesn't want to get off ship and doesn't want to go for an excursion, there's lots to enjoy just being on ship during the day and, as we said, sail on to the next destination and watch the world go by.
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Speaker 2:I know we've spoken a little bit about first time cruisers. The one thing I also wanted to make sure we addressed is repeat cruisers. I'm sure you have a very high repeat rate and specifically people who love river cruising tend to go back with the brand that they have experienced or they'll travel with various river cruise companies, because they like the different ships and the different rivers, and one of the things that attracts them is new innovations because, as we've been talking about the onboard experience, for anyone who has been on a river cruise and listening to this, they're like they totally get it right away because from an exterior point of view, the ships look very similar. I know, your scenic ships have been purpose-built for the rivers and there are certain requirements, as many of those experienced know, to be able to navigate the waterways in Europe and therefore you have to adhere to specific design requirements that from the outside, looking in, they look fairly similar, but it's really on the inside that the differences make themselves apparent.
Speaker 2:So, when we think about some of the innovations that Scenic and Emerald have been introducing introducing, I know, one of the big focuses these space ship europe, uh, in europe that are designed to optimize the amount of space and, you know, having a more luxurious experience. But what are, I guess, some of the innovations that you're bringing with these new ships, with these new itineraries, that those people that are experienced with river cruising but haven't yet tried scenic or emerald, what would be some of the things that would stand out to them?
Speaker 1:yeah. So I would say to you, kind of explaining to you how we first came into river cruising in 2008 and building um those first ships that had the outdoor private balcony. Uh, that is where our innovation started and really that's where we were the leaders of innovation. Um, and that that just continues as we evolve along every year and as our fleet grows, and everything from taking advantage of all the possible space that we can on board and you're correct, our scenic brand is called spaceships.
Speaker 1:Our Emerald Cruises brand is starships, but the spaceships that's why they were called that not spaceships to go to the moon, but space and being able to use that, because, to your point, it can only be a certain length and a certain height to get through those locks in Europe and to be able to get under those bridges that we need to on the European waterways.
Speaker 1:And so, being on board, how we utilize that, everything from the closet design in your suite to that indoor private balcony, to where the little stool goes under so that you can sit or pull it out to sit at the table, to the slumber beds that have the the back that will come up and down on your scenic beds. I mean, people always think at home oh, I need to get one of those for my home life. You know where? I can just press that up to the pillow menus that we have that you can choose from. So all of these are slightly just little things, but they make a difference and they look at our innovation as we grow and continue to build ships along the way.
Speaker 2:Well, it's certainly one of the things that guest expectations are continuing to evolve, especially as you push into more ultra luxury, and so those innovations are obviously that much more important to be able to continue to evolve the guest experience. What are some of the things that and maybe it's specific to some of the new ships and some of the new itineraries, but what are some of the ways that I guess Scenic has been responding to that? We've probably addressed a few of them, but is there anything else on that topic that we haven't covered? That would be interesting for travelers or travel advisors to know how the guest experience is evolving at scenic yeah.
Speaker 1:So I think, um, you know, if we look at um, I'll give you a key example um, the seine river, uh, in france that starts and ends in paris, uh, scenic has had a special um designed ship purposebuilt for that river. And why we're different to the competition on that is that we have purpose-built that ship at only 110 meters in length, and the reason being is that only with that length are you able to sail all the way to Honfleur. And why is that important? Well, for two reasons. One, honfleur is a beautiful destination. If you've never been, please put it on your list. It's just gorgeous, a little French town.
Speaker 1:But the other reason that it's important is because one of the key experiences that you want to have on this river cruise is to visit the D-Day landing beaches in Normandy. It's really important. It's part of that history and that culture that we want to learn. Well, that's quite a full-day experience, a full-day journey. So it involves a motor coach tour that takes you to the beaches of Normandy.
Speaker 1:We actually split up our guests in nationality, so the Canadians can go to Juneau Beach and the Americans are going to Omaha and et cetera. But it actually makes the journey shorter if you're sailing all the way down to Honfleur and getting closer to the destination compared to some of our competitors that can, for example, only go as far as Rouen. So that's an innovative feature that we're always looking at guest feedback From the very beginning of where we have. The guests say, oh, I went river cruising but I didn't have a balcony like I had on Holland America to how we purpose build ships so that we can get to the places that guests really want to go to. So that is for Scenic. And when I say about innovating into the future, our newest announcement is that Emerald Cruises will introduce their own Seine River cruise ship in 2027. And that's called Emerald Lumi and again, it will be purpose-built so that it can have the same experience as scenic going to the destination.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's exciting. I was just in France again and it's a destination. I did the river cruise with Uniworld from Paris to Normandy and I couldn't agree with you more that that's a must experience. And with the D-Day beaches, our kids, we did a multi-generational trip which was really special as well.
Speaker 2:And our kids were young and they got a chance to experience that and I've got a beautiful picture of my daughter looking out over the beaches and just trying to share with them what that would have looked like 60 years ago and I think that is an incredible itinerary, start to finish, because of the cuisine. This is where Europe is such a special destination for river cruising. Although there are many new and emerging destinations, the capacity with Europe and adding new ships and new itineraries, there's still a lot of unexplored opportunity there, so that's exciting to hear. The other thing I wanted to ask you about the new destinations. I know we briefly mentioned Southeast Asia. Tell us a little bit about some of the new itineraries that you're planning or some other destinations you're looking to get into.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so as far as a Europe river cruise experience and the destinations that we sail to, we're not looking at the moment bar adding more inventory and adding emeralds, going into Normandy as maybe a destination For the most part, kind of in Europe we have it covered, where at least the rivers run through and make sense for guests. But you're correct, we opened up Southeast Asia for the scenic ship again, first of its own being a small, intimate, experienced ship. And of course in Southeast Asia you don't need to worry about the height of your ship, so it's a little taller. It means that we can make the suites a little larger on our ships for both Emerald and Scenic in Southeast Asia. And that's important because maybe in Europe you go, you know what I'm going to be so active and out there all the time and sitting on the top deck and I don't need to, I really don't worry about the size of my suite. I maybe don't need a balcony, and that's a factor and that's an understanding for many guests and that's a great perspective. When you're in Southeast Asia you do find, with the weather and it being much more warm, warmer, much more warmer, warmer, that guests want to retreat to their suites in the afternoon to enjoy that air conditioning and to kind of just enjoy the suite and relax and wind down a little bit. And having the pool on board also helps. So being able not as strict from a bridge point of view or a lock point of view in Southeast Asia has allowed us to really innovate the ships there, make them smaller, more intimate and more luxurious, believe it or not. And that destination one of the things that we have changed just in this last year is to actually offer a longer duration of sailing of nine days instead of the regular seven days between Ho Chi Minh and Siem Reap. And that again was feedback from our guests who were looking for a bit more of immersive experience in Southeast Asia and wanted more time on the river and more to enjoy. So that's one of the changes we've made.
Speaker 1:But it's not just about the river cruising in Southeast Asia, and that's why all of our packages add on the pre a couple of nights in Ho Chi Minh and a few nights in Siem Reap and some amazing culture experiences on land, For example, Scenic in particular has a scenic and rich experience, and what I mean by scenic and rich is that it happens on the ships in Europe and the destinations in Europe and in Southeast Asia. But it's about taking you to something that is truly special and cultural for that destination and it's only available to scenic guests. So it's not something you can just buy off the shelf. It's especially designed just for us being a guest and is fully included. There's no additional charge to that. And one of them, for example, is in Siem Reap and we we take over a temple destination in the evening and we set it up with a special stage and a dinner experience and we put on a cultural evening event and a musical event and cultural event there that guests walk away going. That just made my trip so from a destination and innovative of where we're going next. That certainly makes sense.
Speaker 1:But you brought up a good point earlier about loyalty guests and our loyalty guests are very true to us. It's amazing how you know, obviously, almost 40 years out of Australia, we've had a number of loyalty guests who have continued that, who have continued that. But one of the most special things that happened to me just last week is meeting with our top tier loyalty guests that we have from Canada. So there are a number of different levels with scenic loyalty that grow depending on the, the product and the revenue and the number of times you've traveled with us, and a few couple of 18 months ago, we needed to introduce another tier globally called the Chairman's Club. So it obviously comes with the amount you've traveled with. But, Glenn, our owner has actually handpicked you to be part of Chairman's Club and that includes everything from you know, get a special release of new product that's coming and first chance to travel on the Chairman's Club cruises and even a cruise in there and a special event.
Speaker 1:And all of the guests that were part of the Chairman's Club were Australian up until late last year, where the first non-Australian guests were introduced.
Speaker 1:And they're Canadian and they're fantastic. They live in Ottawa. I was in Ottawa last week. I got to have lunch with them and they started with us doing a land tour in 2011 in New Zealand and then that's just grown. They did a few land tours with us, they did Africa, Then they did a number of river cruises and then moved on to our ocean cruise product as well. So I think that's one of the key things when we talk about innovation. There's certainly innovation that we're doing with river cruising and how we grow that and bring new ships in and how we always look at guest feedback and how we can improve. But we've got that rounded product from a land point of view and an ocean point of view. That takes you back to guests saying, oh, two weeks? Well, I tell you when they come back to us again, two weeks isn't enough. So they can pair it with land, they can pair it with ocean. There's lots of opportunities. So I think, from an organization, that's how we're innovating and growing, whether that's Scenic or Emerald, moving forward.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's interesting to hear about Southeast Asia.
Speaker 2:One of the things that certainly comes up when brands are moving into new destinations is sustainability, and you actually hit on another important topic too, which is repeat guests and the fact that if someone's going to continue traveling with a travel brand that they respect and adore, they obviously want to know their commitment to sustainability.
Speaker 2:I know that's something given the scale of the group at Scenic, the number of travelers that you take around the world and especially the different itineraries that you offer. I know this is very important to the organization. You have the Cherish the Planet initiative and one of the things I just wanted to highlight for our listeners, because so many people are hesitant to take an ocean cruise, and I know it's a big challenge for that category and I know they're doing a lot of work to address that when it comes to the shore power, when it comes to wastewater management and certainly just the impact it has on the environment. So talk us through some of the things that Scenic is undertaking, because I know there's quite a few marine initiatives and the UNWTO initiatives that you guys are adhering to, and I just want to draw some of those out because I know it's important to most people today that are making a decision even now for the first time to travel with someone, but absolutely if they're going to continue traveling again.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, absolutely You're correct. We have a Cherish the Planet program which really is a commitment to being environmentally responsible tourism and protecting the places and the communities that we visit. So that's been going for a number of years with us and it's everything from what we inform the public about but even within our own offices so looking at how we can reduce our carbon footprint in our offices and how we recycle and what we do from an environmental business, from an employee it's everything from the bottom to the top and all encompassing of the places that we go to we address the CO2 emissions. We also look very much at how we can ensure that local businesses benefit from the visit of whatever place that we're going to and whatever vessel that we're going to. So we do that very much in Southeast Asia or Africa when we go to orphanages and look at charitable places that we can look to so that we're addressing sustainability for the future.
Speaker 1:Where it's possible and feasible, fresh produce is sourced from local markets.
Speaker 1:So that's a little difficult in Antarctica, but in Antarctica, for example, we have our onboard herb garden to try and bring that freshness.
Speaker 1:But everywhere else that we can and where it's possible, we really try and source from a local market and make sure that we're looking after that local economy as well as having fresh and wonderful food for our guests to enjoy. Reducing wastewater from all angles is really important, and the vessels are equipped with the latest technology and managing things according to a best practice to help reduce the environmental impacts we have. So, for example, on our scenic eclipse ships and those ones that go to Antarctica, we are certified polar class six and we're designed and built with the standards that we need to. So one of those things is called GPS positioning, so we don't drop anchor. What we do with GPS positioning is it means that the ship can stay there and just rotate where it is, so we're not dropping anchor that might look to perhaps damage or hurt anything on the bottom floor of the waterway. So that's a few examples of how we're really trying to address that issue. That is very important to everyone.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's interesting. You mentioned that specifically. David Attenborough just recently celebrated his 99th birthday and I'm sure many people are watching his new series, oceans and highlighting the issue about trawling the ocean floors and just what an impact it has, so even dropping an anchor. These are things that people are becoming much more conscientious of, and so I know we've gotten into some of the specifics specifics and I appreciate you sharing that because it's valuable for me. I know it's really important to our listeners as well, because, you know, a river cruise is a, you know, a big investment of time and money, and people are now, you know, being very diligent about their decision-making. So a lot of these questions that we've been discussing are clearly factoring into their decision-making. But if we take a step back from that level of detail and just think about what's happening to this industry, as we've heard over this series, we had Pam from Avalon talking about the fact that river cruising is going to double in the next five years, from about $5 billion to $10 billion, and so sustainability is that much more important when there's concern about rivers being crowded or just an abundance of tourists in certain destinations.
Speaker 2:But I wanted to understand from your point of view, lisa, what you think is driving this interest in river cruising. So, yes, there's challenges around it. We have to be very mindful about how we approach it and manage that. But when you think about what is actually leading to this many people choosing a river cruise, what are some of the factors that you could? Demographics is a massive one. For sure, and you highlighted that that you know the main audience is 60 plus and half of the baby boomers are retired and the half will be retiring in the next five years. So that's clearly a major trend that is seeing one of the reasons there's a surge in popularity of river cruising. But, from your perspective, what are some of the key factors that you think are driving the trend of the growth in the river cruise market?
Speaker 1:Yes, I really think it takes us back to what people are looking for as a deeper, more meaningful travel experience and that authenticity, and I think they feel that they're going to get that by having an experience that's more intimate from the size and is able to go to those destinations along the way that guests want to visit. I mean, from a river cruising point of view. We're really focusing on tailored experiences that we've talked about during this podcast. You know everything's also focused on health and safety and flexibility, and you know our guests might be 60 plus, but I tell you they're fit. Many of them they're on those, you know, 30 kilometer bicycle rides and doing that with our guides or on their own, and so that more meaningful travel and in a different way, where you're not with a thousand other people, has become more important to people all of the time, and then also a value for money.
Speaker 1:So you know it's great to be able to just get on ship and, as we talked about, you're unpacking once and everything's all included and I don't need to worry about it. You're unpacking once and everything's all included and I don't need to worry about it and they're going to take care of me everything from picking me up at the airport and transferring me to the ship and looking after me at the end and taking me back to the airport to get going. Or if I want to stay a few days, I can do an extension with a guide who, you know, doesn't hold my hand for the entire time but gives me the overall touring aspect of Prague and tells me the highlights and then points me in the right direction on the map when I want some free time.
Speaker 2:So that kind of authenticity and service and kind of just recognition of what people are looking for and acknowledging that is really important. And acknowledging that is really important. Yeah, and on that topic, when we think about the expansion of our industry, clearly one of the big channels is trade and I know that's a big part of your role. So travel agents are that much more important. We've talked to them specifically as part of this. But if we look at sales and marketing overall, I think that's one of the things that many people coming into this industry or travelers listening to this, trying to understand how river cruises are distributed and marketed, and you've obviously got some valuable insights to share there. So I do want to discuss this.
Speaker 2:I want to discuss the whole topic of sales and marketing in river cruise because you've got an extensive background in tourism. You know what it's like to be on the multi background in tourism. You know what it's like to be on the multi-day tour side. You know what it's like to work in rail and the kind of luxury rail. So if we think about river cruising and the roles of sales and marketing, how do you approach specifically? Let's maybe talk about travel advisors first, because I know cruise lines. I mean many travel companies, and large travel companies, are very reliant on what's known as the trade and partnerships with travel advisors. Tell us a little bit of how important that is to Scenic and Emerald and how you go about supporting those partnerships.
Speaker 1:Yes, so, yes, the trade is very, very important to Scenic and Emerald. That truly is how we have grown our brand in this country and everything from the land to the river to the ocean, and we truly appreciate the relationship we have with them. And you know, I think we would say in many ways we're similar to others out there. You know we have our business development managers that are around the country that visit our travel agents or do cooperative experiences with them, and we even have one in Quebec. So we expand that. You know we have our travel agent hub. We have May in particular as travel agent appreciation month. So we have a number of incentives in place for our travel advisors and you know the education that we provide them, our online booking system.
Speaker 1:But I think one of the key differentiators to us to the others out there is that we hold a number of river cruise information sessions across the country. So we do this in around February of each year, we do it again the end of May and into June, and then later in the fall, late September, into October, and these river cruise information sessions are advertised to the public in multiple different ways. So that's everything from digital, social, newspaper advertising, travel agents getting flyers that they can invite their clients. And we include the trade and actually encourage the trade to bring their guests to these information sessions. They're about an hour and a half in duration, they're tea, coffee and a cookie, and it's truly about explaining what a river cruise experience is, what are the itineraries, what's the differences, where to go to. And many agents love it because they're doing you know, they're educating their client by the core people ourselves that work for the company and work for the organization, and then the travel agent can take the guest back to their office and do the booking themselves and be able to provide the travel agent support over that.
Speaker 1:When we've been able to, I guess, kind of sell the guest on the product and the destination. And when we first started River Cruise Sessions, which was almost at the start in 2008, 2009, I think the trade was a little apprehensive, thought we were going after direct business and that was not the case at all. What we did is we brought the information sessions from Australia because they had been doing them in that market for a number of years and found that they were really successful in educating the public. So we did that here in Canada and then we invited the trade and I tell you, once the trade figured it out, they went oh my gosh, this is brilliant, this is excellent. And we see growing attendance from both trade and consumers each year, and that's why we do so many of them through the year.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I like that. You mentioned biscuits. That's such an Australian thing, because Tim Tams, of course, yes, and so Campbell Harris, who runs Global Journeys, has highlighted to me when we open up the Toronto office that you know we just expect a lot of biscuits to the team.
Speaker 1:So anytime someone's coming in.
Speaker 2:but I mean, it makes sense. Tea and coffee is like actually sometimes maybe a bottle of wine. Enjoy that on the weekend. But the other thing I wanted to ask you too, lisa, given that you're across both sales and marketing, and the way that most consumers will find out about these river cruise companies is through marketing. Clearly they have travel agents they work with. The travel agent will be very likely to recommend the experience to them.
Speaker 2:But if we think about some of the most successful marketing initiatives within this sector, certainly one of them that stands out to me, at least in the US market, was Viking's partnership with PBS, with Downton Abbey, and that sort of introduced a lot of people to river cruising, even though I still laugh because you know there's not a river cruise that actually goes past Downton Abbey.
Speaker 2:So the fact that you know you have this TV, but nevertheless the point is that luxurious the old world, like there was a connection between people who would watch the show and people that would go on a river cruise.
Speaker 2:And I know one of the things that Scenic has certainly invested in is in a major way in Australia is TV production and it's one of the most effective ways to be able to get people to have an understanding of what the experience is like. So what I'm keen to know is, from Scenic's point of view, what are some of the major marketing initiatives that you guys have undertaken that you have found that have been particularly effective, and whether they be something you've shot in Australia that's now being broadcast in Canada, like on CTV, which all our Canadians know what we're talking about. But we have listeners in 125 countries. So I'm always trying to be mindful mindful who the heck else is going to know what CTV is? But nevertheless, tell us a little bit some of the bigger marketing campaigns and some of the more successful ones that you guys have worked on.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so let me just start it off by saying to you that we're at our most successful when we have a multifaceted approach. So that's everything from having those information sessions, the digital advertising to get the guests into the information sessions, the newspaper ads we're doing, the travel agents themselves and how they're promoting and the brochures and all of that, and when that's all running together, that's our biggest success. However, we have also dabbled in television, so we would be showing our age here. But you know, back in 2017, 2016, 2018, there was still a show called Canada AM and that was the morning show that covered across Canada and we did two years in a row a live broadcast with Jeff Hutchinson, who was the weather and sports guy of Canada AM at that time, and we did both actually years from France. So we did the south of France the first year and then we did the Seine River and Normandy on the second year, and that was fantastic because obviously it was our demographic of viewer. And that was fantastic because obviously it was our demographic of viewer, it was live and the time difference worked perfectly because it was afternoon in Europe when we were first thing in the morning, whether that was in Ontario or British Columbia and there were a number of cut-ins for the weather and the sports and then giving an idea of what the ship was or what the destination was. So by bringing over the host and the TV team, what we would do during the day is go to different experiences and shoot that segment and then when we had the live broadcast, we would introduce that. Obviously, canada AM finished and there was no longer really that live experience that went coast to coast. So we took a bit of a break from that and obviously there was a bit of a COVID break etc. But just recently we've started to introduce television again and this is primarily on the ocean side, but we will be transitioning to river and highlighting that in the future, but in two ways.
Speaker 1:There is a television series in Australia called Getaway. It's a half hour long series. Travel destination and Scenic has been a partner for 15 years in Australia and it runs on a Saturday evening just before the news and they have really high viewer retention. We have brought Getaway to CTV, actually to the CTV Life channel, just over the last eight weeks. So we have been highlighting everything from Antarctica with scenic eclipse, to our Emerald Yacht experience in the Caribbean for two episodes, then back to eclipse in the Arctic for two episodes and then just last weekend and this coming weekend is scenic Bordeaux on our river cruising. So it airs I believe it's 11 am on a Saturday morning or 2 pm Eastern time on a Saturday morning on CTV Life. So that's Getaway. We're going to see how that performs and then look to probably continue that series because it really gives guests overall.
Speaker 1:We don't really have a travel show in Canada for people to enjoy and to see and to kind of learn about distant destinations and the shows themselves are very destination focused and then of course we highlight how you can get there with scenic and emeralds along the way.
Speaker 1:But that's one of it. The other again was from an ocean point of view. At the first week of April, the end of March, we were in partnership with the Morning Show that now runs nationally, as you know, for that one hour from 9 to 10 am with Jeff MacArthur and Carolyn, and we brought the Morning Show with travel expert Claire Newell, based in British Columbia, onto our Caribbean ship in February and we filmed during the whole week and we did a five-day segment with the morning show and highlighted each day about five minutes with the hosts of our special Caribbean experience on Emerald Yacht and as well we had a contest for viewers. So when we put all of that in that multi-faceted approach together, those are real highlights for us and really do drive bookings, not um to uh just to us but obviously to travel advisors, who then continue and book with us well, it's really interesting.
Speaker 2:I just want to underline two points you just shared there, lisa, for our, for our listeners, since, as you know, my background is very much on the marketing and digital side, globally working with travel brands and the travel corporation for many years, and there's two things that you said there that I found really interesting, that I just wanted to underline. One of them was the fact that integrated campaigns are the most successful where you're doing print, digital and TV in certain cases, and one of the things that you called out there is print, because print is still relevant and still important, especially given the demographic. So that was really interesting and I just wanted to underline that for those people who are listening to this that are looking for marketing guidance and advice, because that's obviously been a real key to your success, for sure. And then the other one that you mentioned, even though it's Canadian specific, but it's the idea of morning shows, and this was the part that I always find so fascinating that you see what works in one market and it clearly will work in other markets, and every major market has a morning show.
Speaker 2:Australia has the morning show, and some of them go by similar names. The US has Good Morning America. That's their number one, and so if you really want to get breakthrough and cut through in the marketplace, being featured on a morning show is a massive gateway to success. So if you can have a great feature and a great profile and someone that's been on a ship and the host talk about it, it can be a game changer for some companies to really establish themselves in a new market. So I thought it was really interesting there what you're highlighting about Canada, but I just wanted to share that with our global audience that actually, wherever you are, if there's a morning program that you can be associated with, it certainly is an important element, just because it has so much reach, as you well know.
Speaker 1:That is how the success of Australia started. Glenn started 30 years ago with the relationship with Channel 9 and the morning show and the Today Show Australia Today Show and doing live broadcasts with them.
Speaker 1:So you know we didn't reinvent the wheel here in Canada when we started doing it, we were looking at what our other market and our main market was doing and thought we'd try it and introduce it in Canada and, to your point, absolutely it's been great success for us. As Glenn, our owner, always says to me, though, once you start television, you have to continue with television. It is an ongoing marketing initiative. You can't, unfortunately, just kind of dip in and out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, people wonder what happened to you. Wait a second, you used to be on the Morning Show. Are you guys still operating? No, that's a really good point. I appreciate you sharing those insights, and so many valuable insights over the course of our conversation. I've been really enjoying this. There's two other things I want to cover with you, and then I'll make sure that everyone can find out more information and be able to connect with you after this. But given that you are such an expert in this space, clearly you've done a lot of river cruises yourself, so I wanted to know what was the most memorable river cruise you've taken and what's up next for you with your travels most memorable river cruise you've taken and what's up next for you with your travels?
Speaker 1:So, interestingly enough, I've been very fortunate to travel on a number of our river cruises. You're correct, and they've always been for work purposes. Until two years ago, when I took my mom on the Portugal Duro cruise for her 80th birthday and we got a bunch of friends together and it was just spectacular. We've talked about it. That destination is really unique and cool and upcoming and not too touristy yet, and then our ship being that really unique, intimate experience just made it fantastic. So that was, that was very special from that river cruise experience. And then what's to come for me?
Speaker 1:well, a couple of them are secret, so I can't fully tell you yet They'll be announced to come, but yes, You're getting in early on some new expansion plans. Is that what I'm hearing? Well, maybe there might be some special hosted loyalty cruises that.
Speaker 2:I maybe host.
Speaker 1:So that's part of it. But one of the dreams before I leave this planet is to get to Antarctica one day, and of course I know I'm a bit biased, but even apart from that I would say, hands down, we do that the best of any operator there, because we have our helicopters and our submersible and just a full luxury experience there. So you know what? I'm crossing my fingers that that might happen sooner rather than later for me.
Speaker 2:That's awesome, and that's definitely right up there. For me, too, lisa. The one thing that's held me back is crossing the Drake Passage, and so I'm going to need all the pharmaceuticals, I'm going to need all of the any device, the wrist like just to get through. That, I've heard, and it really just depends on how rough the crossing is. It's very much up to chance, right?
Speaker 1:So yeah, it's either the Drake Shake or the Drake Lake, and, yeah, you don't know. The one super thing on Scenic Eclipse, though, is we have those really large stabilizers, so I'm not saying that we're not still going to have a bit of an experience, but with the large stabilizers that are like on the really large ocean cruise ships, and having it on a ship that only takes 200 guests to Antarctica, it does make it a little more comfortable. I've been told I like that.
Speaker 2:you describe it as a little bit of an experience. Now, I'm intrigued to have that experience. Maybe I'll actually enjoy crossing the Drake Passage. I really enjoy getting a chance to meet you and have this conversation. Lisa, I do want to make sure that all of our listeners can follow up with you, learn more about Scenic, so where would you direct them after this chat?
Speaker 1:Well, absolutely From a consumer point of view, visit your local travel agent, your professional travel advisor. They know our products well and if they don't know everything, they can give our reservations team a call and certainly help you to close and finalize your trip and your journey. And where you're going with us. Our website, scenicca from a Canada point of view, or emeraldcruisesca, are super ways to also connect. Our brochures are available either to download or to have one mailed to you.
Speaker 1:We still mail a paper brochure because they are very important to our guests and, of course, our information sessions are running across the country from May 20th until June 21st or June 12th I believe We've got three weeks of them and they go from east to west and you'll find the dates and the times and free to attend, to register. It's a really good way to learn about river cruising and what makes us different and it's not a hardcore sales job. It truly is an information session that provides guests with knowledge and, of course, talks about our products and what we offer, but why you would go there, what the destination, why river cruising is really popular and why it's so special, and I would highly recommend that's a great way for guests, consumer and travel agent to learn more about river cruising in general and more information.
Speaker 2:That's great. Thank you, Lisa. Excellent suggestions, super valuable feedback and advice for new travelers, for returning river cruisers, for travelers and travel agents alike. So thank you for sharing all of your insights and it was wonderful to meet you. I look forward to keeping in touch and have a wonderful summer.
Speaker 1:Super. Thanks so much, Dan. Really appreciated the time with you.
Speaker 2:Thanks so much for joining us on this latest episode of Travel Trends. I hope you enjoyed our conversation today with Lisa McCaskill from Scenic, as we continued our deep dive into the world of river cruises. Next week, we're going to have our fourth and final episode, as we feature Pam Hoffey, the president of Avalon, and it's really a perfect way to cap off this series, because I wanted to bring together all of the major brands in this space, and specifically Globus and their introduction of Avalon. You remember we heard from Steve about the Globus family of brands during our guided touring series, and Avalon was the new brand that they created to enter the river cruise space. So I thought it added a really interesting dynamic to this whole conversation and will be a perfect way to finish off this first deep dive.
Speaker 2:So make sure that you are registered on the streaming platform of your choice to be notified when new episodes go live, and I just want to say thanks again to the team at Captio for sponsoring this series. To learn more about them and their technology solutions, check out kaptiocom and then, finally, I just want to remind everyone that we are officially live with our 2025 AI Summit October 28th and 29th. You can pre-register now at traveltrendspodcastcom, and then all of these conversations. We post clips and highlights on our social channels, so be sure to check us out at Travel Trends Podcast on Instagram, youtube and LinkedIn. Thanks again for joining us. We look forward to having you back next week for our conversation with Pam Hoffey from Avalon. And until then, safe travels.
