Group sales for Uniworld River Cruise itineraries travelling along Europe's rivers already account for a significant portion of its current bookings for 2018, an increase for group sales from 2017. Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection recognises this trend of group sales is largely due to Asian travellers hosting milestone events like birthday or wedding anniversaries onboard its European cruises with family and friends and a rise in spending on business incentives trips for top performers. For 2018, Uniworld will continue to actively encourage travel agents in Asia to sell group travel by offering incentives. 

As businesses in Asia seek innovative ways to motivate employees, and as travel increasingly becomes largely popular fuelled by attractive airfare deals, Uniworld is introducing attractive sales packages for groups and incentive bookings for its 2018 Special Asian Sailing Departures.

Uniworld also wants to inspire a new trend for weddings to take place on its Europe River Cruises. As long-haul flights to Europe now become affordable, Europe destinations have become trendy for exotic weddings. Uniworld hopes to encourage travel agents to work with wedding planners to promote its “Wedding Charter Package” to soon-to-wed Asians.

With a growing appetite for destination weddings and overseas wedding photography, Uniworld is ready to offer guests a luxurious experience onboard its ships, where every morning, guests can arrive in a new country or a historic town, or visit vineyards for wine tasting, depending on which itinerary they choose. 

Uniworld provides truly unparalleled experiences through personalized itineraries, quality service and their fleet of beautifully designed ships that fit the destinations to which they travel. Uniworld is unique in that it maintains full control over nautical, hospitality and culinary operations in Europe. By not having to outsource to third parties, Uniworld can ensure a consistently exceptional experience for each individual passenger. With fewer staterooms and more onboard staff than other river cruise lines, Uniworld has a highly trained and dedicated person ready to answer any passenger's request and exceed every expectation.

Similar to its culinary programming, Uniworld's award-winning fleet is designed to reflect the regions to which they travel to, and personalized itineraries provide bespoke experiences. Uniworld provides a broader range of onshore experiences with a higher degree of personalization than any other cruise line in Europe, ensuring its passengers always find the experiences they seek. With over twenty itineraries sailing along Europe's rivers including the Rhine, Main, Danube, Seine and Po Rivers, some of the popular itineraries visit romantic destinations like Venice and Paris. For world-class wines and sunset cocktails, Burgundy and Provence and Bordeaux, Vineyards and Châteaux are two itineraries which are growing in popularity amongst Asian travellers.

River cruising offers many advantages for groups travelling together:

• Unique and Intimate Experience: Imagine waking up each morning with a new view outside one's window. River cruising offers guests the unique advantage of visiting different destinations while the event or meeting is takin place. With an average of 130 guests onboard, it is easy to ensure networking and interaction between guests.
• Luxurious and Stylish Event Venue: Each ship encompasses sublime artistry and quality amenities with each stateroom having made-to-order Savoir of England beds and marble lined bathrooms. One can find original works from famous painters, master craftsmen and furniture designers commissioned exclusively for Uniworld around the ship and combined with the high-quality services and attention to detail, event planners can ensure customer satisfaction with the overall meeting or event.
• Exquisite Regional Flavours - Food-lovers can taste regional flavours onboard the ship prepared by Uniworld's master chefs who ensure fresh, high quality local ingredients are used to embody the unique character of the region and season. Unlimited beverage is served onboard, including an amazing selection of incredible local wines, champagne, craft beer and premium spirits.
• Exceptional Value: In addition to providing guests with a meeting or event space, the all-inclusive cost includes accommodation, transportation from city to city, meals and drinks, room service, yoga classes and daily off-shore excursions such as walking tours with a local expert.
• On-board Hotel Manager– Event planners can work with the ship's hotel manager to pre-arrange activities and special events for full ship charters. They can also adapt from Uniworld's all-inclusive excursions and activities so less time is needed to plan day-to-day programmes.
• Inclusive Programme – Spouses and families can be invited to join as a wider incentive with different activities catering to the leisure guest.

Henry Yu, Manager, Asia, Uniworld said, “We are confident that Asian guests will be impressed by the quality of service by our staff on-board to provide the best service to our guests. We see huge opportunity for group and business market with the increase in demand for all-inclusive holidays. As travellers become more discerning, we also expect more requests from guests to offer local language guides, and this is something we hope to work closely with travel agents in the region to deliver to our customers.“

Uniworld was recently conferred the title of Best Luxury River Cruise by TripZilla, a leading digital travel media in Southeast Asia that reaches more than 25 million travellers every month.

For 2018, Uniworld is adding a fifth Super Ship to its award-winning fleet of floating boutique hotels. It will transform its River Beatrice to a Super Ship with an extensive bow to stern renovation. All public spaces and rooms will be redesigned with meticulous craftsmanship and original artwork, as well as the latest innovations and high-tech amenities available on the rivers.

“Uniworld is committed to providing the utmost in luxury and following the successful launch of the S.S. Joie de Vivre earlier this year, we are eager to introduce yet another remarkable Super Ship to Europe's waterways,” said Uniworld's President & CEO, Ellen Bettridge.

The S.S. Beatrice's maiden voyage will take place on April 4, 2018, coinciding with the official launch of U by Uniworld, the company's new brand and the first river cruise line exclusively designed for travelers ages 21-45.

Uniworld ships are available for full charters and for groups of 10 staterooms or more. The company's group privilege program includes offers; and a choice of special on-board events such as a complimentary one-hour cocktail party, shipboard credits of US$100 per guests based on a minimum of 20 guests. Contact your travel agent or visit www.uniworld.com/asia for more information on group or incentive bookings.

Join Uniworld's social media community at facebook.com/uniworldrivercruises, instagram.com/uniworldcruises or twitter.com/uniworldcruises using the hashtag #ExploreUniworld. 

ABOUT UNIWORLD BOUTIQUE RIVER CRUISE COLLECTION

Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection—the world's most luxurious all-inclusive river cruise line - features luxurious ships with an average capacity of 130 guests, exclusive excursions, gourmet cuisine, and one of the highest staff-to-guest ratio in the river cruise industry. Based in Los Angeles, California, Uniworld offers truly all-inclusive itineraries in Europe, as well as voyages in Russia, China, Vietnam and Cambodia, India, and Egypt—a total of 22 rivers in 26 countries worldwide. In 2018, Uniworld will launch U BY UNIWORLD, a new brand for youthful adventure seekers, featuring two renovated ships that will sail to cities such as Amsterdam, Budapest and Paris. Uniworld is a member of CLIA and is highly regarded by discerning travelers, media, and cruise industry experts, having most recently been named the #1 River Cruise Line in the Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards 2016 readers' survey.

ABOUT U BY UNIWORLD

A new brand from Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection – is the first river cruise dedicated to travel enthusiasts aged 21 to 45, offering immersive experiences along popular rivers across Europe. U by Uniworld will begin sailings in spring 2018 with nine itineraries on the Seine, Rhine, Main and Danube Rivers, among two renovated ships with a maximum capacity of 120 passengers. U by Uniworld river cruises will deliver the same authenticity and personalization that Uniworld is celebrated for, while offering a new way for younger travelers to go from city to city or even country to country. Experiential itineraries focus on longer stays in destinations to connect explorers to local experiences and vibrant nightlife scenes. The A and The B ships feature a contemporary look and feel in all public spaces and guest areas. Communal dining tables will complement a local fare and street food-inspired culinary program, with creative mixologists and international DJ's onboard. For more information, please visit www.ubyuniworld.com or discover U by Uniworld on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @ubyuniworld.

ABOUT THE TRAVEL CORPORATION

The Travel Corporation (TTC) is a highly successful international travel group. Our philosophy is simple –To create enriching experiences for our travelers by combining an unbeatable mix of exceptional service and quality at great value, driven by a passionate global team who are driven to deliver memorable experiences. No matter what your taste, whether you are a family or a couple, a group or traveling solo – TTC offers something for everyone. Our multi-award-winning portfolio ranges from luxury hotels and boutique river cruises, to independent holiday package companies and a variety of guided travel experiences. (www.TTC.com)

ABOUT THE TREADRIGHT FOUNDATION

Created as a joint initiative between The Travel Corporation's (TTC) family of brands, the TreadRight Foundation is a not-for-profit that works to help ensure the environment and communities we visit remain for generations to come. To date, TreadRight has supported some 40 sustainable tourism projects worldwide. 

To learn more about our past and current work at TreadRight, please visit us at TreadRight.org.