US operator Avanti Destinations is opening a call centre in Manchester this autumn.
The company, which has leased space in Salford Quays, plans to hire 20 travel consultants to handle phone, web-based and e-mail inquiries from travel agents primarily from the eastern half of the US.
Historically, the greatest number of Avanti’s bookings are for European and UK travel.
The trade-only operator, based in Portland, Oregon, plans to start training classes for the new contact centre on September 4.
Chief executive Paul Barry said: “We chose Manchester because of its well-educated, well-travelled workforce.
“We needed to expand the hours that trained Avanti consultants are available to US travel agents, particularly those based in the eastern part of the US.
“Our Portland call centre, which opens at 6:30am local time, is three hours behind the eastern time zone and two hours behind the central zone, which are our second and third largest markets.”