After almost 25 years as Business Development Manager with tour wholesaler Norman Allen Group Travel, Laurie Kennard is now working part time as the company's Marketing and Events Manager. With his extensive experience of working with coach tour operators, the role will involve developing new tours based around special events, themes and activities.

Laurie said: "We know there is great interest from coach operators for things that are different to the wide selection of 200-plus tours in our brochure. The trick is to find the information early enough from venues, in order to give sufficient selling time for the tour operators to make a success of the departure."

While he will continue to have some contact with the trade at shows and events, his role as Business Development Manager is now taken by Elaine Ward (pictured here), who joined the wholesaler earlier this year from a group sales background in hotels, most recently as Head of Leisure Sales with The Hotel Collection.