Ray Steward, who joined Collette as head of sales in November, has now finished putting together a new restructured trade team tasked with continuing to “improve engagement with agents”.

Amanda Elgie has joined Collette from AmaWaterways as business development manager (BDM) for the North of England and Scotland, while Cheryl Thompson has been appointed as BDM for Central England, having previously had spells at Wendy Wu Tours and Hoseasons.

Faye Anderson, who has worked for Thomas Cook and bed bank Medhotels, becomes BDM for Southern England, and Priti Gadhia, formerly with the Trinidad and Tobago Tourist Board, takes on the newly created role of BDM specialising in the groups market.

“I am delighted that we have managed to secure such a fantastic and dynamic trade sales team,” said Steward.

“We deliberately took our time to find the right people to fulfil the roles and we now have people with the necessary experience and passion for driving our trade sales. 

“With Faye, Amanda, Cheryl and Priti now in place I am confident that we can not only continue to demonstrate our support to the trade but also find new opportunities in the market and expand the number of trade partners who we work with.”

Collette’s managing director Carl Burrows added: “This is a great opportunity to reinforce the changes and evolution that Collette has undertaken over the past 18 months to position itself as a trade-friendly tour operator.

“Our newly created team is well known by many of our existing trade partners and when combined with their energy and focus, I am really excited about our future, especially with the wealth of experience and established relationships they have brought to the business.

“It has already been a record-breaking start to 2017 and I am confident that we will continue to build on our early successes and surpass our growth expectations with ease.”