Gopalkrishnan previously held leadership roles with Musement and MakeMyTrip, and ran travel start-up Triposo, which was later acquired by Tui Musement.

Tui, in turn, acquired Italian tech start up Musement in September 2018, with the brand now powering its tours and experiences offering. Gopalkrishnan spent eight years with Musement.

Founded in 2012, Dreamlines has raised more than €125 million via investors including Dimaventures, HVCapital and Princeville Global.

The group has gone on to establish a strong presence in several European cruise markets, including the UK and Germany, as well as Australia, via its acquisitions of CruiseAway and Cruise1st in 2018.

It offers a wide range of cruise packages and cruise holidays bundled with experiences and multi-day excursions for its customer base and employs more than 250 dedicated cruise experts.

Maarten Esser, chair of the advisory board, hailed Gopalkrishnan's "strategic insight and drive for innovation". He added Gopalkrishnan was "exceptionally well-suited to guide us into the next phase of growth".

"Nishank’s diverse experience across OTAs, travel content, tour operators, and platform businesses will be instrumental in advancing our digital transformation and enhancing our customer experience across key markets in Europe and Australia," he continued.

Gopalkrishnan said he believes Dreamlines has an "incredible opportunity" to leverage AI in "meaningful ways to elevate the customer experience and optimise our operating model".