Weetman, who was Kuoni's Head of Trade Partnerships, has taken on expanded responsibilities as Head of Retail, PTMs and Trade alongside side her existing responsibilities for travel trade partnerships.

The PTM, which launches with an initial team of nine, follows a year-long pilot programme; Kuoni has said it will extend its ability to offer customers "a highly personalised and bespoke service".

The Kuoni website says "a Personal Travel Manager is a bit like having a travel-savvy friend". They can sell third-party product as well as Kuoni holidays.

All have been appointed from Kuoni's existing sales team following a recent consultation around the closures of Kuoni stores located within the John Lewis retail network. Eight of the nine PTMs have come from Kuoni shops in John Lewis stores.

Weetman will lead the integration of the PTM channel into the wider sales operation and will also assume responsibility for the retail division early next year.

Weetman said: "Customers increasingly want the flexibility to interact with us in different ways depending on where they are in their holiday planning journey. 

"Our goal is to ensure we can meet those needs by offering a range of ways for customers to access Kuoni's expertise and service. The introduction of Personal Travel Managers is a natural extension of that approach."

She added: “Our commitment to our other sales channels, including the travel trade, remains as strong as ever and travel agents continue to play a hugely important role within our business.

"We will continue to invest in our trade partnerships, dedicated trade sales support and account management teams, while also evolving our customer proposition to reflect how people want to engage with us today."

Jack Lewis, Denise Gadsby, Richard Harris, Stacey Warley, Jack Pike, Lauren Abbott, Marie Weatherstone, Gemma Dick and Milli Rawlings Robins make up the current PTM team.