Dowling joins Blue Bay as product manager, and will be responsible for procurement largely in the Caribbean, Indian Ocean and Middle East.

Besides Kuoni, Dowling has previously worked at Tui, and held a board position at the Caribbean Tourism Organisation.

He will report to product management director Greg Armstrong, with his appointment following that of fellow product manager Steve Silver last month.

It also comes after Blue Bay appointed former Midcounties Co-op retail chief Alistair Rowland its new group chief executive.

"I’m extremely excited to be joining such a fun and successful business," said Dowling.

"Given the current troubles in the industry, Blue Bay have a clear growth plan and I’m very proud to have the opportunity to contribute to this.

Armstrong added: "To be able to hire someone of Sam’s calibre at a time like this is absolutely fantastic.

"I have no doubt that Sam will hit the ground running and will really help to drive the product vision we have forward."