His funeral will take place on 4 March at 11.30am at Saint John the Evangelist Church in Ashton Hayes, Cheshire, followed by a service at Chester crematorium at 1.20pm. A gathering will then be held at The Horns Mill in Helsby.

Flowers will be reserved for family and donations in memory of Stark can be made to Macmillan Cancer Support here: macmillan.org.uk.

Stark passed away at the age of 57 following a short battle with cancer. He is survived by wife Ellie, her sons Will and Charlie and his son Josh.

Those planning on attending are asked to contact Andy Freeth in advance at andyfreeth@hotmail.com

Stark’s friends and former colleagues paid warm tribute to him on Tuesday (1 February), remembering his kindness, humour and broad smile.

Freeth, chief executive of JG Travel Group, worked with Stark at Gold Medal and Travel 2, and during his time with Global.

"We’ve been really close mates for a long time," he told TTG. "He was the most genuine, caring, generous, considerate, warm, kind-hearted man. His smile lit up a room. His energy was just fantastic."

Not Just Travel chief of staff Cherie Hotchkiss, who was director of commercial at Global Travel Group while Stark was managing director, added: "He was my boss, but more importantly, he was my friend."