Podcast
Episode 18: Across Waters Less Traveled with Aqua Expeditions
Defined by small ships with extraordinary finishes, remote destinations and world-class crews, Aqua Expeditions offers the voyage of a lifetime for the adventurous traveler.
Following a memorable birthday celebration with his wife and three children at the Backstreet Boys concert at the famous Las Vegas Sphere, Francesco Galli Zugaro, owner of Aqua Expeditions, joined me for a heartfelt conversation about the way Aqua develops their river and coastal destinations from a local-first lens, the brand’s exciting acquisition by Ponant and how they are investing in technology to optimize for future generations of explorers.
About 18 years ago, Francesco had somewhat of a clairvoyant view of what he wanted to do for the foreseeable future following an opportunity in expedition cruising on the Galapagos Islands. The beginnings of Aqua Expeditions came to be shortly thereafter. Francesco spent time scouting South America and decided to settle down in Iquitos, Peru (the company has since moved to Singapore). Since then, he’s delivered six expedition ships in the high-end experiential space and built a brand of small ships that take guests to biodiversity hotspots around the world. Recently, Aqua announced a new ship—Aqua Lares, a project that has been three years in the making—with plans of the inaugural voyage out of Madagascar this February.
The ultimate goal of the brand is to stay ahead of the game, always listening to the feedback from travelers, and making sure they are staying engaged with current and future guests. The brand appeals to the affluent explorer and to guests that have a sense of adventure for new experiences. In the beginning, Aqua mainly explored with small ships in iconic rivers of the world, the Amazon in Peru and the Mekong in Cambodia and Vietnam to name a few. Lately, Aqua has ventured into coastal cruising, marking a big change that Francesco hopes to gain recognition as a global leader of small ship expeditions, independent if they are inland waterways or coastal expeditions.
With a childhood defined by travel (Francesco grew up in 16 countries including Germany, Cyprus, Israel, Switzerland, London, Rome and the United States), he felt a calling to run his own business in the cruise industry. Today, he remarks on his gratitude for serving over 40,000 travelers over the last 18 years. For those unfamiliar with smaller ship, specialty expedition cruising and mid- to large-scale ship cruising, Aqua’s typical guest is not a “cruise person” but rather a traveler looking to get out of their routine and see unique places without sacrificing any creature comforts. For those used to staying at the Amans and the Four Seasons of the world, they’ll find that Aqua Expedition ships measure up. Francesco’s wife personally designs the plates, working with an Italian-based ceramic company that handpaints each piece. That level of thoughtfulness and detail creates a sense of authenticity that puts guests at ease as soon as they embark on an Aqua ship.
“We all have innate desires to go out of our comfort zone and have these “wow” moments where we’re snorkeling next to a whale shark, walking along giant tortoises in the Galapagos or biking through beautiful rice patties in Cambodia.”
The staff and crew are 100% local, which also adds to the legitimacy of each adventure. Developing their employees is a huge focus area for Aqua, as they adhere to high benchmarks to cater to high-end clientele. Using a certified human resources department, Aqua has curated a talent map that has resulted in high retention and low attrition rates across the board. Aqua has won numerous consumer-driven accolades celebrating the guest experience, which highlights the world-class service provided on each excursion.
Something that sets Aqua apart from its competitors is that they have become destination specialists. Their ships are permanently in home port locations, which results in building relationships with local communities that help hire locally and maintain a consistent crew year over year. Francesco sees many luxury brands entering the cruise industry in attempts to stay relevant. Aqua’s advantage is that they create incredible value with extended lengths of stay—much easier to do when the minimum trip is three nights on the river, versus one-night bookings in a traditional hotel.
A huge focus of the brand is sustainability. Destinations in the portfolio are chosen for their remoteness and difficulty to access in an attempt to counter over-tourism and environmental stressors like global warming and coral bleaching. Aqua partners with destination-specific conservation programs to have a net positive impact on the environment and the communities who depend on it.
Last year, Aqua Expeditions officially entered into a strategic acquisition with Ponant Expedition Group (listen to Episode 2 to learn more about the brand), which will support the company’s goal of developing destinations and products while staying true to their vision and ethos. The brands will remain separate for the time being, while sharing commercial and financial resources. Francesco has a clear roadmap for the next 10 years of the company, including new ships and innovative technologies to elevate the guest experience to another level. One destination available soon to Aqua travelers is Aldabra, an atoll in the Seychelles with 150,000 giant tortoises and no permanent human residences. From a technology perspective, Aqua has invested in an IT infrastructure based in Singapore to move in-house, developing forecasting software, booking platforms and CRM, which will ultimately enable their capacity to continue high touch service as AI technologies become more and more integrated.
To finish the conversation, I asked Francesco LTI’s signature rapid fire questions. For personal travel, he is headed to his home in Northern Italy with dreams of roaming the countryside on his bike. When looking back at travel in the past, he misses the time to read a book. So often vacations are high-intensity and planned down to the last meal, leaving little time for stretches of relaxation and enjoyment reading a chapter or two. Looking towards the future, he wishes someone would invent a way to instantly transport luggage to the destination, removing the painstaking task of lugging full suitcases around, especially on multi-destination trips.
Thank you, Francesco, for joining me on this episode of Luxury Travel Innovators, available to listen to and watch on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Youtube.
