Johnson joins the luxury tailor-made operator’s team of travel experts from Inspired by Asia after nearly 12 years with the outfit.

He had previously worked for Travelmood, Tourism Australia and Austravel.

Johnson said he was looking forward to bringing his destination expertise to the role and sharing his first-hand experience with clients.

Neil Sealy, Exsus head of trade sales, revealed the extent to which the firm was continuing to build its trade operation.

"With travel steadily building up again and lots of enquiries coming in, 90% of these from travel agents, I am so pleased to be able to tell agents about another outstanding addition to the experienced and knowledgeable Exsus team."

Writing on LinkedIn ahead of his appointment, Johnson spoke of the tough times he and many others in the industry had faced owing to the pandemic, as well as his optimism for the future.

"Covid has caused so many redundancies, including mine, in the travel industry that we all love," he said. "But gradually things are starting to improve in south-east Asia with Thailand and Malaysia both taking steps to open up.

"Other countries will follow, and hopefully 2022 will see the travel industry get back on its feet. I hope to be a part of this exciting resurgence."