AmaWaterways, which runs a fleet of 21 river cruise ships around the world, is to open its own base in Guildford, Surrey, on 1 September with Stuart Perl as managing director, Travel Weekly reports.

He will oversee the company’s marketing activities in the UK and Europe.

Rudi Schreiner, owner of the company was quoted as saying: “As we transition into our next stage of growth, we are excited about the opportunity that exists and look forward to bringing the beauty of river cruising to the European travel market.”

Perl added: “River cruising continues to expand in popularity with the today’s active affluent travellers and I look forward to our AmaWaterways team building even stronger relationships with our current trade partners and developing new trade partnerships to ensure that AmaWaterways continues to lead the way in this thriving sector.”