River cruise market ‘exploding’, says AmaWaterways’ Jamie Loizou

The river cruise market is “exploding” and “more dynamic than ever before" according to AmaWaterways’ managing director for international markets, Jamie Loizou.

 

The luxury river cruise line saw sales grow by 28% in 2025, marking a “record year” for the company, with the brand also reportedly paying “more agent commission than ever”.

 

Loizou said 2026 had started with “great momentum”, with sales for January up 24% year on year and forward bookings for 2026 currently 25% ahead of 2025.

 

He said: “The river cruise market is incredibly dynamic right now, more so than ever before. There’s really strong demand, for us and across the sector as a whole, which I think has really gained momentum over the last 10 years. 

 

"That’s allowed for there to be new ships and new destinations. There’s also a much broader audience that’s discovering river cruising, with growth being driven by travellers looking for a more immersive way to explore the heart of destinations. 

 

"We like to say oceans take you to places, but rivers take you through them, and I think people are looking for that. It’s fair to say that river cruising is exploding."

 

Loizou said the line’s exotics programme was proving particularly popular with the UK market, with Colombia’s Magdalena River among the line’s top five best-sold destinations in 2025, alongside the Danube, Duoro, Nile and Rhine. 

 

Loizou said: “Interestingly, we tend to over-index in the UK with our exotics bookings as the UK audience really loves them. It’s looking buoyant, especially in Colombia, which is really piquing people’s interest."

 

AmaWaterways recently announced plans to grow its fleet to more than 50 vessels by 2032 in its "most ambitious expansion to date”.

 

The line’s newest ship, AmaSofia, was christened last month, with three additional ships due next year, including AmaFiora on the Rhine, the double-width AmaRudi on the Danube and AmaMaya on the Mekong.

 

Loizou said AmaWaterways was looking for new destinations as well as new partnerships, following the successful launch of land-based itineraries with Mandarin Oriental in October last year. 

 

The brand is also continuing to develop its own land experiences via its newly launched City Escapes.

 

Loizou said collaborating with the travel trade was part of the line’s “DNA” and hinted agents could expect to see heightened support throughout 2026.

 

"We’re in the process of expanding our trade sales team, and we’ve extended our opening hours so phones are open to agents and operators from 8am to 6:30pm,” he said. 

 

“We also introduced our online booking engine at the end of last year so agents can make bookings 24/7. 

 

"We offer a range of incentives as well, including our Sell Five, Sail Free programme, giving agents the chance to travel with us for free if they make five bookings. We’ve already hosted hundreds of agents on board our ships this year, and we have some very special additional fam trips that we’ll be announcing very shortly, so watch this space.”