For a family man whose travel experience stems mainly from the corporate hotel sector, Matt Luscombe seems to have a fairly deep understanding of what makes solo travellers tick.

That could be because not long after taking over from Phil Hullah as Riviera Travel's Chief Executive – a little more than a month – Luscombe experienced a Riviera tour to Morocco dedicated to solo travellers.

This came soon after Luscombe sailed on the Danube with his wife over Christmas, again with Riviera, before he had even officially started. So my first question then to Luscombe is – did he reveal his true identity on either trip? Or was it strictly incognito?

“Firstly, I didn’t want to make it weird for anyone else,” he says, sincerely, before adding: “I didn’t want anyone else’s holiday to be affected in any way by me. I also really wanted to see what we do through the eyes of guests.”

It’s this latter point that strikes a chord, particularly when Luscombe outlines the steps Riviera has taken this year. Last week, Luscombe headed out to Lake Garda with his 13-year-old son on one of Riviera's European tours. "He’s just turned 13 so it’s a birthday treat for him – and some company for me!"

It’s unusual for the Chief Executive of a leading operator to have such a wealth of product knowledge so early on in their tenure. Evidently, Luscombe wants to immerse himself in the company’s product.

During our chat at Riviera’s understated offices on a Burton-on-Trent business park, Luscombe reveals an as-yet unnamed river ship, due to launch in 2029, will have dedicated solo cabins.

“We’re going to be trialling solo cabins on that ship in 2029,” he says. “The reason for that is the majority [of solo passengers] tell us they like being on a solos tour. “However, there’s a minority who say, ‘actually, we prefer to be on a regular tour with couples’. We need to make sure we’re serving both needs.

“Some people prefer to be in the same position as everyone else, some prefer to be with couples and make friends that way.”

The Celebrity effect

So, what other conclusions has Luscombe drawn from his first 139 days leading Riviera Travel?

Revealing parts of Riviera’s five-year plan, Luscombe says: “The gist of what we’re trying to do is become a more marketing and technology-led company. So really thinking about differentiation and innovation, and underpinning that with technology so we can personalise what we do.”

He notes what Riviera is doing today is “fundamentally popular”, but to stay ahead of the chasing pack, the company needs to constantly innovate.

Luscombe does not specifically mention the imminent arrival of Celebrity River Cruises, but you can be almost certain they are the river cruise operator he has in mind.

Celebrity is clearly trying shake things up. Its river ships will feature the largest outdoor space of any similarly sized vessel, with guests being able to in cantilevered dining pods – an onboard feature no other line has dared to roll out.  

“It’s all about looking three or five years ahead,” Luscombe says. “There’s a huge need for innovation. “What is it going to take to keep us at number one over that period of time? We’re the market leaders in a sector that customers love.

“We want to improve the experience further. We’re really thinking about the guests’ journey – and how we can be different from the competition.”

Leaning into customers' wants

The Iran war has hindered Riviera despite it not having loads of capacity in the Middle East. Luscombe stresses Riviera has been able to dance neatly around the conflict for the time being, but he doesn’t rule prices rise in the future.  

“Nobody knows how things are going to unfold," he says. "There’s no immediate price pressure. I can tell you most of the partners that we work with, airlines or shipping companies, have hedged their fuel costs for 2026.

“We continue to be reassured by our partners like [ship chartering firm] Scylla. They told us to start hedging fuel a couple of years ago so we did that.”

He notes how “some” operators in the market have had some “real challenges” owing to the Iran war. Fortunately, Riviera has axed fewer than 10 holidays – all of which were in Jordan – since the conflict started in late February.

Riviera made every effort to be proactive in the face of the ongoing crisis. In April, it launched its 2027 programme with a 10% discount and a £99 deposit for all holidays. “We leant into what our customers wanted,” Luscombe explains. “We were essentially sending a message to the market that ‘if 2027 is what matters to you, let us help you’.

“When people had all this doom and gloom, customers could say ‘Riviera is not putting a gun to my head and book a holiday’, but have certainty over it. We’re really excited about the momentum we’ve got for 2027.”

Riviera, according to Luscombe, is “cautiously optimistic” that despite the ongoing Iran war and the economic headwinds that brings continuing for many more months, it will achieve a record-breaking 2026.

‘A wonderful virtuous circle’

In recent years, Luscombe has mainly worked in the hospitality sector, but he understands travel from the decade he spent working for InterContinental Hotels Group.

I suggest hotel groups are not always known for working hand-in-hand with travel agents quite like Riviera does. The trade accounts for around 28% of the river cruise line and escorted touring specialist’s business. Indeed, trade revenue is 24% up year-on-year, and the number of passenger who booked via agents has jumped 14%.

Both figures are likely to rise going forward given the recent investments Riviera has made to its trade sales team, agent-facing platforms such AI assistant Riva AI, and its incentive offering, Vault.

Following TTG's wide-ranging chat with Luscombe, Riviera announces it has launched a quick access "support desk" function to its online trade platform, Riviera Explorer.

Luscombe is well aware of the power of agents. “We sell quite large priced ticket items to people," he says. "When people have not considered a river cruise before, and may or may not have heard of Riviera before, that’s when travel agents play an invaluable role.

“I can’t imagine a scenario where agents are not a part of our business. It’s a wonderful virtuous circle.”

Another part of the business offering Riviera remains keen to support is solo travellers. Last year, the operator announced it would dedicate river ship – George Eliot – to solo passengers. Luscombe tells TTG the 140-passenger ship is nearly 40% sold before strongly suggesting another Riviera vessel could be entirely aimed at solo passengers soon.

“We want to take people on these adventures,” he adds. “We want to be a force for good in their lives. My experience of a solo holiday really opened my eyes.”

Clearly, Luscombe’s push to experience Riviera’s product range is now starting to pay dividends, particularly if you are a travel agent with plenty of customers wanting to travel with new faces.