First Class Holidays head of national sales Katie Daniels has left the operator to join new destination marketing company Koveli Travel.
Daniels, who has been with First Class for five years and prior to that worked at Funway Holidays and Kuoni, starts in the new role of global sales director at the Maldives specialist on October 31.
She will be tasked with launching Koveli Travel’s portfolio, which specialises in accommodation and experiences in the Maldives, to the travel trade in the UK and globally.
Daniels, who has been on maternity leave this year, said her departure from First Class was amicable. “I have loved my time working with the amazing team at First Class Holidays and I want to thank them for an incredible five years. It was a really hard decision to leave,” she said.
In her new role, Daniels will be promoting Koveli Travel bookings through “an industry-leading” system to both agents and operators.
“I love the Maldives and am so excited to have the opportunity to work at Koveli Travel to not only develop their sales teams worldwide but also launch their business to the UK travel trade,” said Daniels, who will be working three days a week in the new role, based at home.
She described the new company as offering “the ease of an OTA, the service of a high-end concierge, and the in-depth first hand knowledge and experience of a DMC”.
Koveli Travel chief executive Craig Barnett said: “We are thrilled to get Katie on board to introduce Koveli Travel to the UK travel market.
“She is well-known and brings with her a vast amount of experience and knowledge of the industry. We are so excited to work closer with more travel agents and tour operators and show them what we can offer their clients.”