UK Travel Trade Boost as Ashley Walker Joins Travelsphere and Just You in Key Support Role

The UK travel trade is being strengthened by a new appointment at Travelsphere and Just You, where Ashley Walker has joined as channel support manager. The role has been created to provide a central point of contact for group booking enquiries while easing administrative pressure on the wider sales operation.

Walker arrives from Riviera Travel with a decade of industry experience across customer service, business development and trade support. His appointment also expands the G Touring trade team in the UK to seven members, reinforcing the brands’ stated commitment to travel agent support and closer relationships with agency partners nationwide.

New Support Role Created for Group Booking Enquiries

A dedicated channel support function has been introduced by Travelsphere and Just You, with Walker becoming the central contact for group booking enquiries. The role has been created to reduce administrative demands on the sales team and give members more time to work with travel agents.

Responsibility for process improvement will also be included. Internal procedures will be reviewed with the aim of making support more efficient and reducing time spent on routine administration. This is intended to create more opportunities for sales representatives to visit agents.

For the UK travel trade, the appointment adds a defined layer of travel agent support within the brands’ commercial structure. Group booking enquiries will now be channelled through a dedicated contact, while the wider sales team can concentrate more closely on agency engagement.

Ashley Walker Brings Ten Years of Industry Experience

Ashley Walker joins from Riviera Travel after spending around a decade in the travel industry. His career there was developed across several roles, beginning as a Travel Consultant before progression to Business Development Executive and later Senior Trade Support Executive.

That career path provided experience across customer service, business development and trade support. His most recent position was particularly relevant to his new responsibilities because trade-facing support had already formed a central part of his work.

At Travelsphere and Just You, that experience will be applied to group booking enquiries and operational improvements. Walker will be based at G Touring’s head office in Market Harborough, placing the role within the company’s UK trade operation.

Role Will Report Into the Trade Sales Director

Walker will report to Trade Sales Director Tom Morgan. The reporting structure places the position alongside the sales operation serving travel agents.

Morgan said that substantial trade experience was being brought to the role and that Walker would be expected to help improve efficiency. It was also stated that reducing administrative pressure should allow the sales team to spend more time supporting agency partners.

The position therefore combines internal support with a clear trade-facing purpose. While group booking enquiries will be handled through a central contact, the wider team will be given greater scope to focus on agent visits and relationship development.

G Touring Trade Team Expands as Agent Support Remains Central

The appointment has expanded the Travelsphere and Just You UK trade team to seven members. The enlarged G Touring trade team reflects investment that has been made in trade-facing resources over the previous two years.

The latest recruitment adds support capacity rather than simply increasing sales coverage. Walker’s responsibilities will be concentrated on enquiries and process improvement, while sales colleagues are expected to benefit from reduced administrative workloads.

That division of responsibilities has been designed to strengthen travel agent support. More time can be directed towards agency partners, while a dedicated contact manages group booking requirements. Morgan also indicated that the appointment showed the company’s commitment to agents.

No broader strategic changes were announced in the supplied information. Instead, the focus remains on operational efficiency, practical support and stronger day-to-day trade relationships. For agencies, Ashley Walker will provide a central route for group booking enquiries. For the sales team, process improvements are intended to create more capacity for visits and relationship development.

The G Touring trade team will continue supporting both brands through its expanded seven-person structure. This creates a clearer separation between administrative support and direct sales activity while keeping agent partnerships at the centre of the operation.

Conclusion

Ashley Walker’s appointment marks another development for the UK travel trade as Travelsphere and Just You continue investing in their agency-facing operation. By placing group booking enquiries and process improvements within a dedicated support role, greater capacity is expected to be created for the sales team to work directly with agents.

Walker’s decade of industry experience will now be brought into the G Touring trade team, which has expanded to seven members in the UK. The move reflects an ongoing focus on travel agent support, operational efficiency and relationship building, while keeping trade partners central to the brands’ sales approach.