Marija Puaca, sales development manager, Travelscene
Education: eight O’ levels, three A’ levels and BA Hons Degree, modern languages (French and Spanish).
First travel job: four months with British Midland as a reservations agent in Castle Donington – after which she was promoted to work on Heathrow ticket desk.
Career path: after two years on the ticket desk, Marija moved into sales as an account manager for British Midland. After gaining four years’ experience, she decided to broaden her knowledge by working as an agency sales manager in London north and the Home Counties for Thomson Holidays. After another four busy years, Marija joined the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express sales team as UK sales manager, travel trade where for three years she looked after distribution through the major multiples and contracting with UK tour operators. Marija left Thomson to join the Bland group as head of UK sales with a challenging brief to develop special interest holidays and promoting reader offers. That expertise led to her current appointment, three years ago, as sales development manager for Travelscene where she has met the challenge to increase sales via national telesales travel agencies and closed user groups by expanding this sector of the business significantly.
Advice for people wishing to develop a career in travel: “A warm and friendly personality is vital but you should always back this up with an excellent and efficient service to customers and colleagues alike. Chase every sales opportunity as if it were your last and remain as flexible and helpful as possible. Keep learning from those around you – particularly with John Harding as a boss.”
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