Hurtigruten has handed Carla Hines and James Howlett new roles as part of a sales team restructure

Hines, who joined the Norwegian coastal brand in July 2023, has been promoted to head of sales for the EMEA region.

Prior to joining the line, she spent six and a half years with Royal Caribbean International, initially as a senior trading executive before becoming head of sales admin EMEA.

Howlett, meanwhile, has been promoted to head of sales for the UK. He joined the brand in May 2022 as partnerships manager, before working his way up to UK sales manager in August 2023.

Prior to that, he held roles with Fred Holidays, as national business development manager and head of sales, and Uniworld Boutique River Cruises, as key account manager and regional sales manager.

Hurtigruten restructure follows Iain Powell appointment

The moves come after former Saga Travel Group trading director Iain Powell joined the line as its new vice president of sales and marketing UK & EMEA following the departure of Anthony Daniels earlier this year.

“Carla and James have been instrumental to the success of the Hurtigruten sales team since joining the company,” Powell said.

“They have helped to significantly build our presence amongst trade partners, positioning Hurtigruten as the leader in Norwegian coastal cruising, and their expertise has seen a strong growth in sales not only for our classic voyages, but also for our new premium products, the Svalbard Express and North Cape Express.”

Last year, Hurtigruten Group confirmed it would be splitting its products, with its expedition arm becoming HX and Hurtigruten Norway, its coastal brand, reverting to just Hurtigruten.