Tui, Designer Travel, Ponant: this week's travel trade people moves

Olympic Holidays has promoted operations director Reeva Kingston to acting managing director following Michael Vinales’s departure from the Greece specialist last month. Kingston, who joined Olympic Holidays 25 years ago as database assistant, has held a variety of positions at the tour operator – including product inventory manager and operations manager. Olympic said Kingston is a well respected member of the team which mean she is the "perfect candidate" for the job. Executive chair George Michalias has expressed his confidence in Kingston’s ability to guide the company over the next few years.

Abta’s former head of membership Danny Waine has opened a consultancy firm to help travel businesses get their ideas off the ground. Named Travel Nomads, the firm will offer services such as sales strategy, business development, relationship building and account management while also helping SMEs with succession planning. “Some ideas from new-to-industry entrepreneurs have massive potential, but the individuals often lack the industry understanding or relevant network to bring them to fruition,” he said. “Conversely, many long-standing entrepreneurs who run SMEs are looking to exit, but don’t have a viable succession plan in place. Travel Nomads will assist entrepreneurs across the whole spectrum.”

Richard Forde has joined walking holiday specialist Involved Holidays as its new sales director. Forde’s appointment to the newly created role comes as part of Involved Holidays’ expansion plans, which include the recruitment of an operations executive and an operations assistant. The appointment marks Forde’s return to the travel industry after he stepped down from his roles as Tipto chair and Newmarket Holidays head of trade sales and partnerships last summer. “From a trade perspective, the portfolio features some fantastic No Single Supplement holidays, which are always in high demand,” he commented. “Plus, we also have some exciting new product developments in the pipeline.”

Tui has named First Choice managing director Bart Quinton Smith as its new UK and Ireland sales marketing director, effective 1 January. TTG 30 Under 30 alumnus Quinton Smith succeeds Neil Swanson, who was promoted to the role of Tui UK and Ireland managing director in October following the departure of Andrew Flintham, who has taken over at British Airways Holidays. Quinton Smith, who joined Tui in 2010 as a pricing insight analyst, has held a variety of roles with Tui in the UK and Ireland, including general manager for product and innovation and head of digital marketing.

Designer Travel has appointed Celebrity Cruises’ former regional sales manager Jessica Trickett as its cruises and long-haul business development manager. Trickett, an industry veteran with almost 30 years of experience, will focus on expanding Designer Travel's homeworking business while working alongside suppliers to help the company grow.

Star Clippers is set to grow its presence in southern England with the appointment of Emma Daines as its new sales executive. She comes as part of a restructuring of the trade sales team. An industry veteran with more than 30 years of experience, Daines will report to head of UK trade sales Nicola Cox. In her new role, she will focus on growing Star Clippers’ business with high street agents through regular visits and training. “Having previously been a travel agent myself, I know how best to support our loyal agent partners and how to help them drive new business,” she commented. Prior to joining Star Clippers as part of the reservations team, Daines worked as a travel agent at Premier Travel.

Ambassador Cruise Line has expanded its trade team with the appointment of Peter Green to the newly created role of strategic accounts manager, effective 6 January. Green, a former trade training executive at the Malta Tourism Authority, will be responsible for growing and strengthening relations with key partners to maximise sales generation through trade events and marketing campaigns. He will report to Ambassador deputy head of trade Karen Cameron. “The role has been created with an initial focus on London Cruise Terminal to identify new agent partners and identify growth opportunities with existing partners before extending to Ambassador’s regional ports across the UK,” said head of distribution Nicola Harper. “There is a big market for our affordable quality product, and we are fully committed to supporting our valued trade partners with the knowledge and resources they need to succeed.”

Former SeaDream Yacht Club UK sales director Natalie Read has joined Oceania Cruises as its newest regional sales executive, effective immediately. “So happy to be back doing what I love… meeting agents and talking cruises!” Read, an industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience, posted on LinkedIn. Prior to joining Oceania, she has held a variety of roles in travel – including business development manager at the Cruise Portfolio and regional sales manager at Gold Medal.

Flight Centre has appointed Joe Beevis as general manager following Lucy Clifton’s promotion to a more senior role at the company’s global learning and development team. Beevis, who joined the company in 2010 as a manager, is tasked with growing the agency’s high street retail network around the country. Beevis is also focused on growing sales across Flight Centre's specialist, luxury, round-the-world and group portfolio.

Panache Cruises continues to invest heavily in fresh talent by hiring four apprentices and promoting a fifth. Henry Livesey, Tom Holding, Molly Brooks and Isabella Clark have all joined as apprentices while Mollie-Jo Green has been promoted to the role of assistant partnership manager. The appointments bring the number of apprentices employed by Panache to 20 as the company is aiming to employ 100 apprentices over the next five years. “We want people who want to succeed and grow with the business and we feel apprentices give us that,” chief executive James Cole, who founded the luxury cruise retailer in 2020, said. “Combining apprentices with more experienced people we recruit into the business is the way we’ve chosen to grow Panache Cruises.”

Luxury tour operator Exsus Travel has expanded its sales team by hiring Michelle Mittens as a worldwide travel expert. Mittens, who has more than a decade of experience in the hospitality and travel industries, joins alongside Charlotte O’Brien and Elaine McGuinness. All three come from First Class Holidays and have a particular expertise in Australasia and North America. “We’re thrilled to welcome Michelle to the team,” said sales director Sinziana Renciuc. “Her extensive travel experience and passion for exploration are a great fit for Exsus, and we are excited about the expertise she brings to our clients. With Michelle, Charlotte, and Elaine now onboard, we have a stronger team than ever to offer bespoke travel experiences, particularly for North America, Australasia, and beyond.”

Ponant has promoted team manager Marine Huguet to UK coordinator following a restructuring of the UK commercial team. UK&I general manager Anthony Daniels said the changes enable Ponant to “proactively support all business channels and opportunities as we grow in the UK in 2025”. As part of the restructuring, Drew Bolton joined Ponant in November as sales manager for northern England, Scotland and Ireland.

Cyplon Holidays has expanded its trade team over the past year with the appointment of Caroline Butler, Amanda Britton and Becki Clarke. According to sales director Stephanie Robins, the appointments will help the luxury specialist with its growth mission, as the three recruits have extensive experience of both short and long-haul destinations.

Grecotel Hotels & Resorts has grown its UK sales team by appointing former Fred Olsen Travel business development manager Briony Lea Worrall as its new sales executive. In her new role, Worrall will support agencies in the Midlands and some of the UK's larger agency chains. Headed up by Kostas Sinis, director of UK sales and luxury, the team made two hires last year: UK sales manager, Liz Shaw, and business development manager, Yannis Ioannou. The brand is now looking to make a fourth hire. On Grecotel’s ambition for the UK market, Sinis said: “Introducing a team dedicated to the UK market clearly shows our intentions to grow our share of business in the UK – which over the years has established itself as the most important market for our business.”