Sister river cruise brands Scenic and Emerald Waterways have added two sales managers to their on-the-road team following a bumper trade sales year in 2016.

Simon McDermott, with former roles at both Avalon and Ama Waterways will work across the northern central region while Wendi Hardy, formerly of P&O and Cunard will manage key account relationships across the southern central territory.

They will join sales managers Dawn Quinn (Central), William Young (North) and Lucy Hone (South) in supporting national sales manager, Angela Sloan to deliver ambitious growth targets in 2017 .

Working across Scenic and Emerald Waterways’ product portfolio including each brands’  river cruise fleets and Scenic Eclipse, The World’s First Discovery Yacht, the two will be tasked with continuing to develop strong head office and store level relationships with agents across the UK.

Sloan said: “2017 will be pivotal in cementing our position as the trade’s preferred river cruise company. Bringing Simon and Wendi on board follows agent business exceeding 2016 passenger targets and a need to continue opening doors and building relationships at pace. Our unique, inclusive product offering has put us in an enviable position even amidst uncertain economic conditions.”

There are now 10 people in the trade support team across the brands.