58 INTERVIEW Celebrating 30 years of success in Asia Paul Strachan of Pandaw Cruises talks with Susan Parker about the history of the river cruise brand, which may soon expand operations into Western waters “ The highlight of Pandaw’s cruises is that guests experience life in local communities” First established by Scottish merchants in 1865, the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company (IFC) once had the largest fleet of privately owned vessels in the world – by the 1920s, it operated more than 650 vessels, mainly paddle steamers, on the rivers of Myanmar. However, operations ceased in the 1940s due to Myanmar’s successful fight to gain independence. In 1995, Scotsman Paul Strachan and his wife Roser revived IFC, becoming the first to offer river cruises on the Irrawaddy since colonial times. The couple discovered one of IFC’s original Clyde-built steamers, Pandaw, and decided to lease, restore and operate the vessel under new brand Pandaw Cruises. Today, the company has 18 ships, 11 of which are operational and seven of which are laid up in Myanmar due to difficulties caused by the current civil war between resistance groups and the ruling military junta. Revival is something Strachan does well. Although Covid-19 had devastating effects on his business and he momentarily considered retiring, the upswell in loyal passenger support and requests for him to continue was irresistible and the brand restarted cruises in 2022. “It was very, very touching to have so many people wanting us to come back, and other companies wanting to buy the ships showed there was still value in the business,” he says. The comeback started slowly, with 3,000 passengers sailing on eight ships in 2023-2024 and numbers rising to 3,500 on 11 vessels in 2024-2025. Strachan predicts the brand will host at least 4,000 guests in 2025-2026, noting that over 3,000 bookings have already been made. The company has a 10,000-strong members’ club and a historical repeat rate of 45 per cent. Most guests (60 per cent) come from Britain, while 25 per cent hail from Australia and New Zealand, and the remainder are from the USA. Being a small company makes Pandaw agile, a trait that allowed it to launch a new India route out of Kolkata on Kalaw Pandaw in October 2024. “River cruising in India is great operationally and from the point of view of service levels,” says Strachan. “However, the cost of pre- and post-cruise stays is exorbitantly high. Locals board Pandaw Cruises’ river vessels to showcase traditional entertainment to the guests
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