Leiza Sullivan will join the group as BDM for central England. Sullivan, who has spent the past five years working as a BDM for Avalon Waterways, will link up with APT from 1 March following the promotion of Robin Griffiths to national account manager, which was announced earlier this month.

The appointment is part of a wider recruitment drive which has also seen APT’s four-star sister brand Travelmarvel appoint Elaine O’Brien as BDM for Ireland – the brand’s first dedicated BDM for the Irish market.

O’Brien has more than 30 years’ experience in the travel industry, including 12 years running TheTravelShop.ie and TheCruiseShop.ie, and has already spent the last six months “building awareness” of Travelmarvel’s products among local agents.

APT and Travelmarvel added that they have also made an “exciting new hire” for the role of BDM for northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with the identity of this latest recruit set to be “announced soon”.

Brad Bennetts, head of sales and business development for APT and Travelmarvel, said: “We worked hard to find the perfect candidates to deliver the professionalism, energy and support that will help our trade partners to thrive.

“Our goal was to create the best sales team in the market; with these expert BDMs in place, and the support of our call centre, marketing and design experts, I can confidently say that we have achieved just that. We are committed to delivering a service to the trade that is every bit as good as the quality of our holidays.”