Joshua Preston is sitting in the first-class lounge at London's St Pancras International station when we speak. He has just caught his first train down to the capital and is about to fly to Los Angeles for a personal trip.
There is a slight irony to the timing of our interview: the day before we speak was his last day at Royal Caribbean. After just over two years with the cruise line – he joined in July 2024 – as Sales Development Manager, he is about to start a new chapter with G Adventures as a Global Purpose Specialist covering the Midlands.
"I'm a very passionate person, and something about G Adventures struck a nerve," he says. "It seemed like an exciting time to join the business."
The opportunity came after G Adventures’ Director of Growth Nick Hughes got in touch via LinkedIn to congratulate Preston on being named one of TTG's 30 Under 30 for 2026.
The move means leaving an industry Preston has grown to love, but he sees plenty of continuity between the two roles, particularly when it comes to trade relationships.
"I'm looking forward to building new relationships with different types of people, but also taking those existing relationships and strengthening them further in a different area of the industry," he says.
From check-in desks to cruise ships
Preston's career in travel began at East Midlands airport where he worked on the check-in desks. He enjoyed the customer-facing nature of the job, but the early mornings, late nights and overnight shifts eventually took their toll. "I learned a lot, but I was exhausted all the time," he says. "I couldn't keep it up for much longer."
An opportunity at Bolsover Cruise Club, closer to his hometown of Chesterfield, offered a different route into the industry. And it was on his very first cruise – a two-week P&O Cruises sailing from Malta – that Preston found out he got the job.
"I was sitting out on the deck and thought, 'I could get used to this'," he laughs. "I was so happy when I received the job offer – I filled in the contract while I was still onboard!"
He then moved into a customer-support role, dealing with everything from disrupted flights and refunds to emergencies abroad, before moving to Royal Caribbean, where he quickly excelled.
One example includes his work with an emerging homeworking account, which saw sales in April and May grow by 500% year-on-year. The turning point, Preston explains, was creating a dedicated Royal Caribbean closed user group for the homeworkers. It gave them a direct line to the sales team, a place to ask questions and "more importantly", somewhere to celebrate their successes.
"It's not just the sales message you get across, but the relationship and touch points that you have with people that make the difference," he says. "The social selling aspect is hugely important."
That sometimes means knowing when to take a step back, Preston explains. "Businesses change, priorities change for businesses," he says. "These are people's livelihoods that they've built, so it was very much understanding: are they ready and is now the right time to start talking with them?"
A new adventure
That people-first approach is something Preston plans to take with him to G Adventures. He is "very excited" about talking to agents about community tourism and demonstrating how the money travellers spend can be reinvested into local communities.
But he also sees a wider selling opportunity in how agents broaden the conversations they have with customers. "Touring and adventure travel is on the rise," he says. "When a customer asks for a holiday to Spain or Greece, I want to make sure agents feel comfortable introducing those different types of holidays into the mix.
"It's very easy to go online and book a regular holiday direct these days," he continues. "That's why agents shine when selling these tailored 'dream' trips."
'I'm sad to say goodbye to cruise'
Preston admits leaving Royal Caribbean was "emotional". "I'm very sad to not be working for a cruise line anymore," he says. "It was definitely a sad day saying goodbye to all my colleagues."
But he is already looking ahead, with longer-term ambitions to step into a leadership role at his current company. "G Adventures will hopefully help me get to that next step in the next five years; they really put the people and the company culture at the heart of everything they do," he says.
For now, though, he is focused on "getting stuck in". "No matter the sector, I'm in the travel industry for life," he says. "I just can't wait to get started on this new chapter."
