Melissa da Silva will take up her role from next month

The Travel Corporation has announced that Paul Wiseman, president of Trafalgar USA and Brendan Vacations, will relinquish his role at the helm after ten years.

He is departing in order to run his own training business focused on leadership and development.

Wiseman will be succeeded by TTC colleague and current Contiki Holidays USA president, Melissa da Silva.

Da Silva will be promoted to the Trafalgar leadership role effective June 5th, following four years successfully managing Contiki and more than two decades in the industry.

With 20 years’ experience selling guided holidays for Trafalgar and Contiki, Wiseman has led the two flagship TTC brands both in the USA and Australia and recently assumed the successful management of Brendan Vacations.

In his new capacity, Wiseman will work alongside Trafalgar to deliver enhanced collaborative support for trade partners.

Commenting on the changes, Wiseman said: “This last year has been extremely rewarding and 2017 will be the best year in Trafalgar and Brendan’s recent history.

“I hand off the baton knowing I have achieved as much as I can, and I leave a respected colleague and a newly expanded team to take the brand further forward.

“I will be forever grateful for the opportunities afforded me across these wonderful travel brands.

“I leave to pursue my passion for learning and development and I look forward to working with Trafalgar and our retail partners in the near future.”

Wiseman will remain with Trafalgar until July 28th, with his new business venture commencing July 31st.

Speaking on her new role, da Silva said: “I am incredibly excited and proud to take on the role of president for Trafalgar USA and Brendan Vacations and will do my utmost to rapidly extend the envied brand legacy that Paul has helped build.

“I’m ready to hit the ground running in June and eager to immediately engage with our valued industry partners to ascertain how we can ensure we are working together to maximum effect.”

Da Silva’s successor at Contiki will be announced shortly.

Gavin Tollman, chief executive, Trafalgar, added: “We are delighted that Paul is going to focus on professional learning and development; it has always been a great strength of his and we are grateful to further leverage this knowledge for the benefit of our trade partners.

“We are also thrilled to welcome Melissa to Team Trafalgar; she has outstanding credentials for this role, given her extensive industry and brand expertise, proven leadership skills and exceptional business acumen.

“The USA remains the most important market for Trafalgar globally, and I look forward to working with Melissa to continue to strengthen our invaluable relationships in this region.”