The London-based operator, which specialises in tailor-made rail itineraries, has appointed Joy Lacana as head of agency sales to drive bookings through the trade.

Lacana, who previously worked as agency sales manager at Club Med for six years, said: “Railbookers has mainly been focused on direct-sell but now we have recognised the importance of travel agents within the industry.

“We know the value that agents offer to their customers because of their experience and we want to make sure that agents feel valued.”

Railbookers was set up in London in 2003 and now has offices in Los Angeles, Sydney and Auckland.

Lacana is currently drawing up a strategy plan for trade marketing with the aim of initially targeting independent agents.

She said that Railbookers would be paying a “competitive commission based on the market” but did not give further details.

The operator is offering a dedicated phone line for agents, and also plans a host of marketing initiatives in the coming months.

“We will be targeting independent agencies in the beginning,” added Lacana. “We will put in a lot of investment by offering training opportunities, joint marketing with preferred partners, fam trips, advertising and point of sale material such as brochures and posters.”

Lacana said that while Railbookers offers tailor-made trips around the world, its main specialism was organising rail holidays in Europe.