Princess Cruises has appointed Nick Hughes as its new sales director for UK and Europe. Mr Hughes replaces Rachel Poultney to lead the sales team, effective from 17 October.
Mr Hughes has had a broad career in the travel industry, most latterly as sales director, tour operations for dnata B2B, across the Gold Medal (and previously) Travel 2 brands. He has a track record of building successful award-winning sales and marketing teams and has widespread knowledge across multiple sectors, agency groups and suppliers.
Mr Hughes sits on the Membership Committee at ABTA and was also appointed Chairman of TIPTO in 2019, a group of leading suppliers providing high-quality training across the UK for the UK travel trade. An active member of dnata’s Diversity and Inclusion programme, he additionally sits on dnata’s UK charity board.
Commenting on his appointment, Hughes said: “I’m really happy to be joining the Princess Cruises team, especially at such an exciting time in the cruise sector. Being so renowned for its quality, service and of course the reputation of its high calibre team within the travel industry, I hope to support, continue and build on the great work Eithne and the Princess Cruises team has delivered to date.”
Simon Applebaum, Gold Medal managing director, said: “Nick’s been a valued member of the Gold Medal and dnata Travel Group UK leadership team during his time with us, and we all wish him well with his future endeavours. Thanks to his expertise and professionalism, our relationships with travel agency partners across the UK have never been stronger and have ensured we remain the trade’s favourite long-haul tour operator. As a result of his stewardship of our sales function over the last five years, we can look to the future with optimism.”
“Princess Cruises is an important partner for us, and we’re excited by the prospect of continuing to work with Nick in his new role to maximise opportunities for both brands. We look forward to continuing our close partnership with Princess, fulfilling our shared commitment to agents, and converting the impressive demand for cruising that we’re seeing.”
Hughes will report to Eithne Williamson, vice president, Princess Cruises UK and Europe. Ms Williamson said: “We are delighted to announce Nick as our new sales director and we look forward to him bringing his wealth of travel knowledge and experience to our sales team. Nick’s relationships within the trade allow him to build upon the strong rapport our team already has with travel agents, taking Princess from strength to strength.
“We’d also like to thank Rachel Poultney for her hard work and dedication to Princess. Rachel has been a valued asset to the team, having held the position of sales director for more than six years, and her commitment has helped us achieve significant milestones throughout the years, such as our biggest-ever booking day back in June. She will be missed, and we wish her well in her new ventures.”
