A-Rosa River Cruises has created a new UK head of sales role to demonstrate its continued commitment to selling only via trade partners in the UK.

Stephen Joyner, formerly cruise club manager at the Travel Network Group and strategic account manager at Royal Caribbean International, will join the line on 7 October 2019.

He will report to managing director for the UK and Ireland Lucia Rowe and will lead the UK sales team, implementing strategic sales strategies to drive business. He will also be responsible for the training and development of the line’s business development managers.

Rowe said: “We are delighted to welcome Stephen to our UK team. He brings with him a wealth of experience both on the retail and supplier side, which I believe will be invaluable in the role. The trade is of paramount importance to A-Rosa in the UK and creating this new position will ensure we give it even greater focus going forward.

“Stephen is a highly analytical and commercially astute professional, with a vast amount of experience in managing complex sales tasks and achieving ambitions sales targets, while being a great leader to his teams. He is also well known in the trade and his appointment will further reinforce our plans to develop and grow our partnerships here in the UK.”

Joyner added: “I am so excited to be returning to cruise after a few years out of this amazing sector. I join at a time when river cruise continues to grow in popularity and A-Rosa has successfully positioned itself as a significant player in the UK market over recent years. My role will be to step things up a level and help drive A-Rosa’s ambitious development plans for the coming years.

“I want to bolster the brand’s UK presence further and announcements such as the groundbreaking new E-motion Rhine ship, entering the market in 2021, is one that I’m looking forward to showcasing with our trade partners as soon as more details are released.”