Dnata Travel Group has appointed Sarah Bird to the position of Destination Manager for West Coast USA and Canada, working across the Gold Medal, Pure Luxury, Cruise Plus and Incredible Journeys brands.

She will be based at the company’s headquarters in Leyland, Lancashire, and report into Mark Henderson, Head of Product – West.

Sarah brings with her over a decade of industry experience, much of which was spent in the commercial function at TUI UK & Ireland.

At TUI, she held a variety of positions including Overseas Holiday Advisor, Retail Manager and Team Manager for the Customer Contact Centre, before moving into product in 2021, where she was responsible for tours and multi-centre holidays worldwide.

Mark said: “The USA and Canada really is our heartland, so we’re delighted to have someone of Sarah’s calibre on board to drive our reputation among the trade as the ‘go to’ for Stateside holidays and packages.

“We have such a diversity of product across our four B2B brands and the depth of her knowledge will only add to what is already a formidable level of expertise in the team.”

Sarah said: “Demand from agents for USA and Canada holidays has been ticking up steadily this year, despite Sterling’s recent weakness and ongoing fluidity in transatlantic air services.

“I’ll be attending World Travel Market next week to meet with suppliers and tourist board contacts to discuss how, across Gold Medal, Pure Luxury, Cruise Plus and Incredible Journeys, we can maintain – and accelerate – that upward trend, with a particular eye on making the forthcoming Peaks one to remember.”