A stunning 42.9% year-on-year growth pushed North Americans to the top, while the German source market grew only at a modest 1.9% rate. In total, the European river market recorded 1.33m passengers in 2015, up 20.4% from the previous year.
Viking River Cruises, which introduced a dozen new river ships in 2015, would have had a significant effect on the North American carryings. Among the other operators adding vessels marketed to Americans were AmaWaterways, Uniworld, Emerald and Scenic.
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Some 423,635 river cruises were sold to Germans last year, generating an accumulated turnover of €435.1m, an increase of 10% year on year.
IG RiverCruise and DRV said the growth in terms of passengers could have been stronger but was affected by long-term shallow water periods on both River Rhine and River Danube. This situation led to re-routings and cancellations.
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The average duration of a river cruise sold in Germany has grown from seven to 7.18 days in 2015, contributing also to a significant average cruise prise increase from €952 up to €1,027. The daily rate likewise grew by 5% up to €143.13.
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River Rhine and River Danube remained the Germans' preferred destination, but changed their ranking after Danube had stood at the top for many years: With a 7.8% year-on-year growth, River Rhine took over as number one destination, accounting for 38.2% of the market. Danube is following closely behind with 38%.
