In the newly created role, Hilton will be responsible for the sales, marketing and business development of all four guided holiday brands in the UK & Ireland –Insight Vacations, Luxury Gold, Trafalgar and CostSaver – effective immediately.

She will manage a dedicated marketing team and a field sales team of six that will now operate across all the brands.

Each sales person’s territory will become smaller, “allowing them to forge deeper relationships with agent partners, create more detailed plans and ultimately take a more collaborative and tailored approach”.

Hilton will report in to Gavin Tollman, chief executive of Trafalgar and CostSaver, and Ulla Hefel Bohler, chief executive of Insight Vacations and Luxury Gold.

Tollman said: “With Paul leaving, we were in a position to review our strategy and structure in the UK and the time seemed right to bring together the knowledge, experience and relationships held by the two established sales teams under the leadership of Ruth, who has done a fantastic job of growing Trafalgar and CostSaver’s business in the UK.

“We’d like to thank our valued travel agent partners for all their support on this journey, and look forward to our greatest years being ahead of us.”

Hefel Bohler added: “Given Paul’s length of service, it was important to us to the find the right person to replace him and I’m excited that Ruth will be leading our UK operation moving forward.  

“Having been part of TTC for a number of years now, she has a proven track record in growing the business, she knows how we operate and, most importantly, she lives and breathes our commitment to service delivery and to the trade.”

“Our message to agents is come along and enjoy this ride with us, we’ll support you,” added Hilton.

Hilton will have a handover period of a month with Melinis.