Testing the Waters with Dori: Why You Don’t Want to Miss TMP on the River

You might think that gray skies and puddles on the ground would put a dampener on an afternoon spent in Antwerp, Belgium. Instead, myself and a group of travel advisors faithfully followed photographer Dan Galbraith around the city as he showed us how to improve our photography skills regardless of the weather and how some of the coolest city photos come from reflections in the very puddles most of us had tried to avoid.

Galbraith had already given a presentation on basic photography the day before but having him on hand for practical guidance while we toured the city was invaluable.

Later that evening in the main lounge onboard AmaCerto, advisors from around the U.S. and Canada shared the photos they’d taken, oohing and aahing over each other’s angles and reflections, and carefully selecting the one or two they wanted to enter into the highly competitive photo contest.

Later that cruise, AmaWaterways’ chief operation officer, Jon Burrows gave a fascinating overview of how the rivers of Europe work, including diagraming how locks work to regulate river water levels (in a normal year, not like this year sadly).

It should have been boring. It was anything but.

The next year, Burrows returned again, providing a sneak peek at everything coming to AmaWaterways both onboard the fleet and shoreside. Some of what he revealed was so new it didn’t have a name yet and if AmaWaterways’ PR department had known what he was telling us, they probably would have fainted.

That is Travel Market Place (TMP) on the River.

During the three previous incarnations of TMP on the River, travel advisor participants have alternatively been guinea pigs for things AmaWaterways wants to try out, learned how to easily use AI to set up a social media calendar, discovered how to write a unique value proposition that no one else in the industry can copy, and experienced the full AmaWaterways product from meals to entertainment to shore excursions.

And that’s just a tiny piece of what was available to advisors!

Created via a partnership between AmaWaterways and TMR, TMP on the River is offered to advisors every March, right on the heels of the ASTA River Cruise Expo.

Part FAM trip, part educational conference, TMP on the River is an essential learning tool for any advisor that wants to not only know more about selling river cruises, but also how to run their travel business more efficiently, how to market, and – thanks to photographer extraordinaire Galbraith – how to take photographs you can use to entice others to book the trips you’re selling.

Of course, I might be a bit biased. This is the third year that I’ll be presenting during the cruise. In the past I’ve offered sessions on how to work with your local media and how to create a unique value proposition that no one else in the industry can copy.

This year, I’ll be hosting a panel discussion on how to build and manage group river cruises.

Travel marketing guru Rita Perez – who is also one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet – also hosts educational sessions every year. This year her sessions will focus on the three jobs your social media content needs to do to be more effective, along with how to create a social media campaign to launch your next group. TMR Canada’s Bruce Parkinson will teach advisors how to incorporate storytelling into their marketing, and Jon Burrows will be back – hopefully, once again, with some juicy insider tidbits, that will give participants a leg up on the competition.

This year also brings a special itinerary, one that is not often offered as a FAM – the Southern Danube, sailing from Vienna for those attending the ASTA River Cruise Expo (or Budapest for everyone else) to Giurgiu, Romania, with visits to cities and towns in Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania.

But don’t take my word for why this is a must-attend event. As I said above, I’m probably biased.

Here’s a little of what advisors across the three previous sailings have said:

“I’ve had the pleasure of attending three TMP on the River events, and each one has been an incredible experience. I always come home with new friendships, new skills, fresh ideas, and even more enthusiasm for river cruising. The TMP team always delivers outstanding support, training, and plenty of opportunities to learn and connect. Having AmaWaterways onboard and receiving firsthand updates and insights directly from their team makes the experience even more valuable.” – Marie Odorizzi, CTC, owner, This Is Travel

“The ‘talking to the media’ session has given me the confidence to represent my brand and expertise, while the insights into river cruising have deepened my understanding, allowing me to sell these journeys with even more passion and knowledge. I can tell you firsthand how incredible the training experience was. This is the training you don’t want to miss.” – Cathy MacKinnon, owner, Cathy’s Travels

“This was such an excellent experience for me to learn about the Ama brand and, wow, the educational content was amazing! My favorite was the AI – such a huge help!” – Deanna Reilly, owner, Deanna’s Travel LLC

“I wanted to experience it so I could tell my clients or possible clients. This is not exaggeration, but to me this is almost heavenly.” – Ellie Froese, travel advisor, Christy Schmidt’s Travel.

“The experience was excellent, great to learn some tricks from the social media as well as photography. Great to spend time with other agents and build a bigger network and to see and learn about other countries and culture.” – Carrie Williams, travel advisor, Envoyage

Curiosity piqued? Get the scoop on TMP on the River 2027 here. (There aren’t many cabins left…)