Explora Journeys is adding executives to its UK and continental European sales team to strengthen its relationship with the travel agent community. These new positions, along with seven others in the US, will ensure effective collaboration between the MSC Group's new luxury cruise brand and its partners to maximize its business potential.
According to Chris Austin, Chief Sales Officer: “The new additions to our sales team have extensive experience in luxury travel, are well-known and respected in the industry, and are wholeheartedly dedicated to the travel agent community. In addition to being experts and proactive in consultative selling, they are very responsive to agent requests and have a clear objective: mutual success.”
New signings for teams in the United Kingdom and continental Europe:
- Paul Potrykus, Head of Sales for Southern Europe: currently in Madrid, before joining Explora Journeys he held the position of Chief Sales and Marketing Officer for two years at Suncani Hvar Hotels & Resorts and worked at Rosewood Hotels & Resorts as Director of Global Sales for eleven years.
- Andrew Schweitzer, Business Relationship Lead for the UK and Ireland: Based in London, he was Business Development Manager at Quark Expeditions for a year and a half before joining Explora Journeys. Prior to that, Andrew worked for nine years at Viking Cruises in the UK and Australia.
- Natalie Dorrington, Global Trade Marketing Expert: Also in London, she held the position of Marketing Manager at The Cruise Portfolio, where she assisted various luxury cruise lines with their trade and consumer marketing projects, event planning, and promotional activities.
- Suzanne Kochen, Head of Sales for Northern Europe: Based in Amsterdam, Suzanne worked for two digital start-ups specializing in luxury cruises and then for Crystal Cruises as Director of Sales International.
- Daniel Zink, Business Relationship Lead DACH: resident in Cologne, worked for five years as a sales representative for Germany, Switzerland and Austria with the company Seabourn & Holland America Line.
- Gabriele Cornalba, Business Relationship Lead for Italy: Before joining the team, Gabriele worked for three years at Viaggi del Mappamondo as head of the northern Italian regions. Prior to that, he was Key Account Manager and Regional Sales Manager at Celebrity Cruises, Azamara Club Cruises, and Silversea for two years.
- Sophia Weiss, Sales Excellence Specialist: Based in Geneva, Sophia worked for a year with Camping Vision AG as a Content and Sales Specialist. For the previous two years, she was a Sales Admin Executive for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
The first of Explora Journeys' four ships will be ready for its maiden voyage in twelve months, in May 2023. During its first year, EXPLORA I will visit 132 ports in 40 countries, including two destinations that will see a cruise ship arrive in their waters for the first time: Kastellorizo (Greece) and Saint Pierre (Martinique). Itineraries include the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Greenland, Canada, the US East Coast, the Caribbean, South America, and Hawaii. Sailings range from six nights to an unforgettable 44-night Grand Voyage through Northern Europe.
