Aito appoints Carly Charteris as head of membership

Aito, The Specialist Travel Association, has appointed Carly Charteris as its new head of membership, beginning on September 1.

She brings more than 30 years of travel industry experience to the role, and joins Aito from Discover Qatar, where she has been regional sales manager since 2023.

Based in Doha, she led sales and sales support teams working with B2B trade partners across five global markets, including the UK and Ireland, Europe, North America, Latin America and Australia and New Zealand.

Before joining Discover Qatar, she spent almost a decade as national sales manager at independent luxury tour operator Premier Holidays, responsible for developing relationships with agents, managing key commercial partnerships, and supporting sales and marketing activity.

Charteris previously held sales and business development roles with the Global Travel Group, Villa Plus, and RCI Europe, and worked as a Travel Counsellors agent for four years.

More: Carly Charteris returns from Doha for ‘new challenge’

In her new role at Aito, Carly will focus on supporting and strengthening engagement with the association’s existing membership and identifying opportunities to expand its community of specialist travel businesses.

Martyn Sumners, executive director of Aito, said: “Carly brings extensive experience in B2B travel, with a strong track record of building relationships, developing partnerships and supporting business growth.

“Her international experience, alongside her deep knowledge of the UK travel trade, gives her a valuable understanding of the businesses and relationships that make up our sector.

“Carly will bring a commercial, relationship-led approach to membership, helping us to strengthen the support we provide to existing members while demonstrating the value of Aito to businesses considering joining the association.

“We’re looking forward to seeing her bring her experience and fresh perspective to the role.”

Charteris added: “Building strong relationships has been at the heart of my career, so the opportunity to bring that experience to Aito and work closely with its membership is particularly exciting.

“I’ve seen first-hand the value that trusted specialist travel companies bring to destinations and travellers alike, so I’m proud to be part of an association championing quality, expertise and responsible travel.

“I’m looking forward to getting to know our members, listening to their priorities, and helping to demonstrate the value of being part of the Aito community.”

Aito’s previous head of membership, Emma Taylor, joined global payments specialist Repayd as head of partnerships this month.