Sunday, July 21, 2024 A white steamboat with a prominent red paddle wheel docks in Pittsburgh, boarding 150 passengers before setting sail on the Ohio River. This 1800s-style cruise ship isn’t headed to tropical destinations like Punta Cana or the Bahamas but to unique locations such as Moundsville, W.Va.
, to see the Adena Indian burial mounds, and Maysville, Ky., to enjoy bluegrass music. The USA River Cruises Grand Ohio River-American Heritage tour travels from St.
Louis to Pittsburgh and back, stopping in various small cities along the way. “These are cities most people wouldn’t go to on a driving vacation, but if you go there, you get to see the real America,” said Cindy Anderson, office manager and cruise and rail expert at USA River Cruises. In 2022, the U.
S. river cruise market was valued at $95.4 million and is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 20.
8% from 2023 to 2030. “The river cruise business has grown every single year,” Anderson said, attributing the rise in popularity to several factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Post-pandemic, many clients prefer the smaller, intimate setting of a river cruise over a 3,000-passenger ocean liner.
Monika Sundem, CEO of Adventure Life tour agency , also credits the pandemic for the increased interest in river cruises, as vacationers began to explore domestic travel options. “When COVID-19 forced people to look inward, they discovered we have some amazing things in our own backyard,” Sundem said. .