Luxury river cruise line AmaWaterways has revealed the latest phase of its UK trade sales team expansion with the appointment of three new staff members

New joiners include Hayley Gadd, business development manager for the west midlands and south west; Becka Herbert, business development executive; and Harvie Lyons, business development manager for the north of England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

Over the next six months, the team will focus on supporting AmaWaterways’ trade partners and further extending the brand’s distribution throughout the UK. It comes as the line recently announced plans to expand its fleet to over 50 ships by 2032.

Gadd joins the organisation with 27 years of experience in the travel sector, having started her career as an apprentice with Lunn Poly in 1999 before spending 15 years with TUI. In 2024, she transitioned to her first field-based role as partnership development manager for the south west and Wales with P&O Cruises.

She said: “I’m delighted to be joining at such an exciting time for the business and cannot wait to use my experience from both ocean cruising and my retail background to help our partners grow their river cruise business.”

Herbert has worked in travel since 2018, most recently with Classic Collection, where she transitioned into a specialised role covering product and commercial responsibilities. She said: “I am excited to join AmaWaterways team and support the agent partners and the sales team with the upcoming expansion plans for the brand.”

Lyons, who recently worked in a marketing role for fashion retailer LOOKFANTASTIC, said: “Having grown up around the travel industry, I am thrilled to bring my experience into the growing river cruise industry with AmaWaterways.”

Andrea Stafford, director of sales UK and Europe for AmaWaterways, said: “With our newly created strategic and regional business development manager roles, we can give more focused and elevated support to our trade partners.

“With our fleet set to expand to over 50 ships by 2032, there is a huge opportunity, and our focus is to ensure we give our partners what they need to capitalise on the unprecedented demand river cruising is experiencing and supercharge their sales. We believe any agent or operator that sells luxury ocean cruise, experiential touring or city breaks should be selling river cruising and it’s our mission to switch them on to AmaWaterways.”