Blair, now one of travel’s most promising faces and a member of last year’s class of TTG 30 Under 30, was once a business and marketing student at Birmingham City University who dreamt of working in fashion.

But meeting the man who would later become her husband led her onto a different, yet exciting new path.

“After university, I moved to Woking as [my now husband] is from there and that’s where I got my first job in travel,” she tells TTG. “I worked at the Travel Network Group as a marketing executive and that was amazing because I got to see how the whole industry worked – from cruise lines and hotels to tour operators and travel agents.”

Blair acquired an additional set of skills when, after eight months in her marketing executive role, she moved onto the Travel Network Group’s in-house cruise operator, the Cruise Club.

At the Cruise Club, she was responsible for all the marketing communications and social media management as well as for organising the tour operator’s agent events and consumer shows.

After a year-and-a-half stint at river cruise line AmaWaterways, Blair joined Classic Collection in June 2021 and she’s been there ever since, rising through the ranks to become trade marketing manager.

“Si Morris-Green gave me my first ever travel job at the Travel Network Group and now I’m back working with him,” she says. “It was a full-circle moment.”

Blair had already been employed for more than two-and-a-half years when, in early March 2024, Classic Collection announced it would consolidate its two B2B brands – Classic Collection Holidays and Classic Package Holidays – into a single, trade-focused company.

Of the restructure, Blair says: “Now more than ever, we see that travel agents are super-engaged with us, we’ve had a lot of new-to-Classic agents and that’s really fantastic.

“When you meet agents, you get to know their different skill sets, their history and what they bring to the table, and also their thoughts on the industry.”

Blair tells TTG dealing with people is one of the best parts of her role, alongside overseas travelling and shaping creative marketing campaigns.

“Agents have so many other opportunities to speak with operators, so [for me] it’s about being different, standing out and thinking outside the box,” she explains.

When asked about what kind of advice she would give to a young person hoping to make it in the industry, Blair lights up and says: “Say yes to every opportunity because when you’re younger you need to have the most exposure.

“You have to expose yourself to every angle of the industry, find what works for you and then make that your career,” she adds.

Blair’s commitment to travel does not end with her job at Classic Collection as, last year, the 30-year-old joined the board of the Association of Women Travel Executives (AWTE) as membership director to help attract a younger generation of women travel leaders.

“I want to develop at [AWTE] as much as I can whilst I’m part of it while championing women in travel,” she explains. “I’m always striving to be recognised within the industry and elevate within my role. That would be my dream, to just keep climbing [the corporate ladder].”