Malta specialist Belleair Holidays to be revived by JTA parent

"When we heard that Nigel and Steve [Crownshield] had decided to close the business, we were determined that this historic travel brand wouldn’t be allowed to bite the dust," said Green.

"Belleair is a brand that agents have loved for more than 40 years as the ‘go-to’ operator for the Maltese islands and beyond – we aim to bring that back, stronger than ever before.

"We absolutely know that UK consumers love the Maltese islands, the diversity of the product and the inclusivity of the warm, friendly people."

Green said he envisaged Malta proving particularly popular next winter against a backdrop of rising costs in the UK, with great potential for a long-stay programme.

"We aim to make it easy for agents to promote what the Maltese islands have to offer and will provide a brand-new booking engine that agents can use to make the online booking experience effortless," said Green.

JTA is bringing back some familiar ex-Belleair faces, including Fiona Morgan, who joins as specialist product manager and brings more than 20 years’ experience with Belleair to the role.

"Our aim is to recruit and retain experience and specialist knowledge and plan to get Belleair Holidays firing on all cylinders very soon so we can support our wonderful trade colleagues and partners once again," Green added.

JTA Group chief executive Wayne Darrock said: "We are delighted to have added such an iconic brand as Belleair to our business. Belleair will operate as a separate entity to our other brands due to its specialist nature, we will still add the JTA dynamic culture to modernise and increase its product offering to all UK trade partners.”