That was the message from the chief executive of Cosmos Tours and Cruises and Avalon Waterways UK at the Clia River Cruise Conference at the weekend.

Speaking in Amsterdam, Giles Hawke admitted he had mistakenly believed river cruising was for the older generation, before taking on his new role at the helm of Avalon seven months ago.

“My view of river cruising wasn’t the most positive,” he confessed. “We’ve got a big job to do to convince people that river cruising is nothing like this.

“It should have an appeal across all age groups. It’s the best type of city break you can imagine.

“River cruise is probably about 10 years behind where ocean cruise is, but this is positive because we can see the mistakes they have made and move on from that,” he added.

Hawke stressed the need for river lines to provide better tools for agents, particularly with regards to technology. He also said lines needed to “develop their products – families can become a bigger opportunity for us for instance,” he said.

Hawke also said lines should focus on differentiating themselves, and developing their shore excursion offerings. “We need to do more with shorex; there’s a big opportunity for us to find new things to do.

“We need to shout more about what we do,” he added.

Meanwhile he urged agents to focus more on promoting the river sector. “We [river lines] need to all focus more on travel agents, and they need to focus more on river. There’s a big opportunity for them to make [the sector] more mainstream.

“There’s a big earning opportunity. Most river cruises have an inclusive element, and when you look at what’s included it’s a fantastic and big earning opportunity for agents.

“Now is the time for river cruising to take off,” he concluded. “We are in launch position. This is the year that river cruise is really going to blast off.”