Riviera CEO Phil Hullah outlines early US expansion plans

Riviera recently relaunched in Ireland and Australia.

Its two new ships, Riviera Radiance and Riviera Rose, will launch in March and April 2025, respectively. 

Organic approach or rapid acceleration

For the US, ‘First and foremost, we’re now reinvesting in what we’ve got there – getting it more focused, with more marketing, and gaining traction to organically grow,’  Riviera Travel CEO Phil Hullah explained.

He told Seatrade Cruise on board Jane Austen during the brand’s 40^th anniversary celebrations in Paris, ‘We’re looking at our options for more rapid acceleration and whether the right thing to do is just to continue with the organic approach, building our own brand, selling through the trade and potentially direct. Or whether we want to work with a US partner with a presence there already… That’s a work in progress.’

Toehold in the US

Around 2018, Riviera embedded a small team in the US, but ‘had to back off any expansion in the US during COVID,' with Hullah noting, 'we have just a toehold in the US market at the moment.’

Riviera has a two-person team stateside where its offering is limited to selling river cruises – and through the trade channel only. ‘It’s a very simple offer, but despite that, it’s gone very well. Encouragingly, it feels as though the US is a good fit for the product,’ added Hullah.