Hays Travel has appointed Kelly Green as its new assistant head of cruise and will join the team at the end of May

Green, who joined the agency from Tui in 2020, was appointed independence group business development manager for the central region in March 2022 and left the agency in January 2024 to take up the role of head of retail with fledging agency Club Voyages.

Catriona Parsons, Hays Travel head of cruise, said: “Kelly has a breadth of experience including a strong business background, having worked for 14 years in financial services, coupled with an excellent understanding of the travel sector. Her two years spent with our Hays Travel Independence Group members will be particularly useful insight.”

Working alongside Parsons, Green will be responsible for driving the growth of the cruise business across the Hays Travel group, including in-house tour operator Vista’s cruise product.

She will also manage all cruise commercial relationships and the cruise contact centre. Parsons added: “I was impressed by Kelly’s professionalism and her ambition to grow cruise across our business. It’s a pleasure to welcome Kelly to the team and I’m looking forward to what we can achieve with her on board.”

Appointment comes after Hays Travel smashes cruise targets

Last month, Vista smashed all booking targets for Q1, exceeding its original goal by nearly 50 per cent.

The cruise tour operator, which relaunched at the start of the year, was set up to support agents and drive sales, with head of sales Kathleen Molloy citing the investment in a dedicated team of cruise specialists as the reason for the agency’s recent success.