Travel industry veteran Lol Nichols is to retire from his role as general sales manager of Fred Olsen Cruise Lines in January after 43 years in the travel industry.
He joined the cruise line in 1994 when the company operated only one ship, Black Prince.
He remit at the time was to promote a range of lines for which Fred Olsen acted as the UK general sales agent, including Star Clippers.
Before Black Prince was retired in 2009, Fred Olsen was successfully selling and operating cruises across five ships.
Nichols took over his current role in 2000, playing a pivotal part in developing the company’s relationship with the trade and overseeing the sales team.
His career in travel started in 1972, aged 17, working for Thomas Cook in a branch in Oxford Street, London.
Two years later he joined Thomson Holidays, where he remained for almost 20 years in a range of sales roles. He then had a brief stint at Costa Cruises before moving to Fred Olsen.
Nichols, who is to retire to Mallorca, said: “The main highlight of my time at Fred Olsen has to be the great people who I have worked with, both within the company and externally within the cruise industry and travel trade at large, making lots of friends along the way.
“I will be sorry to leave, but also excited at the prospect of moving to my house on Mallorca, where I have been spending an increasing amount of time in recent years.
“I have been in travel for all of my career, and consider myself fortunate to have worked within such a vibrant and exciting industry, enabling me to visit so many amazing places around the world.
“I will be leaving Fred’s soon after what will have been a very successful year for the company, and I wish my sales team and all of my colleagues the very best for the future.
“I look forward to continuing to follow the cruise and travel industry closely – and Fred Olsen’s progress within it – as a consumer and guest.”