Ponant appoints Andrew Bolton as UK sales manager
Ponant has appointed former Celebrity Cruises strategic account manager Andrew Bolton as its new UK sales manager for the north of England, Scotland and Ireland
Bolton, who spent more than 20 years with the ocean cruise line, has also held roles with Cunard and Seabourn and will join Ponant on 11 November.
Reporting into Ponant UK and Ireland general manager Anthony Daniels, Bolton will support required passenger, revenue and profit targets, while also sourcing new routes to market.
It comes after Daniels shared with Cruise Trade News his plans to bolster the line’s sales team and secure bonding in the UK after identifying the market as a key growth area.
The line will also launch a recruitment drive for a sales and marketing co-ordinator in January to help support the sales team and streamline agent engagement.
“I’m delighted to be joining Ponant at an exciting time of growth in the UK & Ireland and looking forward to working closely with our trade partners to support them in growing their expedition cruise business with us,” Bolton said.
Daniels added: “I’m incredibly excited to welcome Drew to our team. His knowledge, skills and drive are a great asset to us in this new era for Ponant UK. He and Vlad will be invaluable to executing our long-term strategy.”
Ponant secures European Commission funding for new eco ship
Last month Ponant secured funding from the European Commission (EC) for its plans to launch the first transoceanic carbon-neutral cruise ship.
The line was selected to receive support from the EC’s INNOVFUND – a scheme which supports the development of a combination of renewable energies to achieve its decarbonisation objectives – for its Swap2Zero project.
