Schmitt joined the river cruise operator in October 2022 from his role as project manager with Fred Olsen Travel. Prior to that, he was head of sales UK and Ireland for Tradewind Voyages and also spent time with SeaDream Yacht Club and Trailfinders.

Announcing his departure from AmaWaterways on Friday (28 July), he said: "My role at AmaWaterways as head of sales was made redundant at the beginning of this week.

"I have taken a few days to reflect and process and am now looking to move forward for the next step in my career. It’s been a turbulent few years for the travel industry, but those challenges have given me many positive and interesting experiences that I know I will be able to bring to a future role."

AmaWaterways managing director Jamie Loizou said: "As we transition to our next stage of growth, we have had to review the structure of the team and are appointing a sales director to support these plans. Therefore, we had to make the very difficult decision to part ways with Mark.

"I would like express how grateful we are for the tireless time and effort Mark has given to the business and his significant contribution during his time here."