River Cruising Is the New Luxury Travel Powerhouse

The river cruise market is now one of the powerhouses of luxury travel, driven by soaring client satisfaction and strong repeat business. That’s according to Travel Market Report’s River Cruise Outlook 2025, the latest in TMR’s ongoing study of the travel industry, released today.

The report paints a bullish picture of the river cruise industry, a segment that has depended on travel advisors for its growth over the last decade, and an area that shows no signs of slowing day, with new entrants, including one of ocean cruising’s giants, readying to make their way onto the river.

One of the most notable findings of the report is how many clients return to river cruising again and again: the share of advisors successfully upselling a follow-up river cruise every time has tripled, jumping from 4% in 2024 to 11% in 2025. That shows just how sticky the segment is, and how advisors can use river cruises as a growing funnel for repeat business.

The report also shows where consumers are coming from: more than 9 out of 10 advisors say that they have persuaded clients to opt for a river cruise instead of a land vacation.

And, as to where the segment lands in the market, half of the advisors surveyed classify river cruise clients as their highest-paying segment, affirming its status in the luxury travel agency portfolio, with the average per-person spend on a river cruise trip at $9,316.

The outlook is now available to read online and on the TMR Training Page.