Spiers is the final appointment of APT & Travelmarvel’s new-look Business Development Manager (BDM) team, which he joins having spent 10 years at Barrhead Travel

Reporting into APT & Travelmarvel’s head of sales & business development Brad Bennetts, Spiers’ role will be to build relationships with partners, identify new business opportunities, and manage third-party retail accounts.

The operator has pinpointed the North of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland as areas in which to form new partnerships, which Spiers will be tasked with driving forward. He will also help agents in those regions to maximise sales of APT & Travelmarvel’s river cruises, yachting holidays, assisted by training opportunities, and comprehensive toolkits of assets.

The news follows a string of other appointments and promotions for the operator, with Spiers set to work alongside Leiza Sullivan and Elaine O’Brien, who joined as BDMs last month.

APT & Travelmarvel lauds largest ever UK sales team

“I am thrilled to announce that Gary Speirs joins us as BDM North England, Scotland & Northern Ireland,” said Bennetts. “His appointment completes our journey to create APT & Travelmarvel’s largest ever UK sales team.

“I made no secret that my ambition was also to use our investment to create the industry’s finest resource for agents. I believe we have now achieved this goal; other operators will struggle to match the quality and efficiency of our trade support.

“[Gary] stood out immediately as the right person to help us deliver this exacting standard of service to existing and new partners throughout his territories.”

It’s been a busy few months for the river cruise and touring specialist, having appointed Darren Birch to the role of marketing and CRM manager for the UK and Ireland, while promoting its existing business development manager for central England Robin Griffiths to the newly created role of national account manager.

Meanwhile, former business development manager for APT Travel Group Koral Lipton was appointed by Explora Journeys, where she joined the luxury arm of MSC Group as business relationship expert.