Kuoni has expanded its trade team to five with the appointment of two new trade partnership managers.
It follows a restructure led by head of trade partnerships Sarah Weetman, who joined the tailor-made specialist last summer.
Adam Morris and Sarah Ashmore will join the operator in March, taking responsibility for managing key accounts throughout the UK.
Morris joins Kuoni from Azamara, while Ashmore arrives from Attraction World Group.
The restructure sees Dani Kelly move into the role of trade partnerships executive, while Matt Sole takes up a newly created trade engagement executive post.
Sole’s role will see him focus on trade communications, social media and training.
“The new structure is designed to support agents to have the knowledge and confidence to book more holidays with Kuoni, with support tailored to their businesses," said Weetman, who joined Kuoni from Travelsphere and Just You parent G Touring last August.
Prior to his stint as Azamara business development manager UK and Ireland, Morris spent five years with Royal Caribbean where he held regional sales manager and key account manager roles.
He also brings seven years’ experience from Thomas Cook, where he progressed from sales consultant to cluster manager, overseeing sales and profitability across a number of branches.
Morris said he was excited to join "an iconic premium brand" at a time of "significant growth", adding: "I look forward to helping drive Kuoni’s renowned quality brand offering and taking our trade relationships to the next level alongside an incredible team."
Ashmore, meanwhile, brings recent industry experience from her five years with Attraction World Group where she worked as key account manager. Earlier in her career, she held positions with APT and Avalon Waterways.
"I’m delighted to be joining the Kuoni trade sales team during such an exciting and integral part of its next chapter," said Ashmore. "I look forward to reigniting and bolstering trade relationships, which I’m confident will only go from strength to strength."
Weetman hailed Morris and Ashmore’s appointments. “Adam and Sarah come with a wealth of experience and both have incredible passion, creativity and relationships with trade partners which demonstrate our commitment to growing trade relationships," she said.
"I’ve known Sarah and Adam for some time and can’t wait for them to be part of the Kuoni team. Both are well respected and have so much enthusiasm, bringing innovative and engaging ways of working. They will join the existing members of the team, Dani and Matt, who both have a wealth of Kuoni experience, so it gives us the perfect mix for a dynamic team to support our trade partners."
Weetman also praised Kuoni’s existing trade set-up. "We have got an outstanding call centre, which we call the Expert Hub, staffed by experts with vast knowledge of places like Africa, India, the Far East and Indian Ocean, and we want more agents to come to us for expertise and bespoke trips which will exceed their clients’ expectations," she continued.
"Our call answer rate is less than two minutes and the feedback we get is exceptional. We’ve done a lot of work to equip our call centre team with the knowledge and service commitment to handle trade calls well, so it’s all part of our revitalised plan to grow business through the trade."
Find contacts for 260+ travel suppliers. Type name, company or destination.