Saga Holidays have announced the appointment of Joe Sutcliffe as head of long haul for product and purchasing.

The appointment follows the retirement of Saga’s current head of long haul, Stuart Douglass, Lee who will be retiring after nearly 35 years in the travel industry.

Sutcliffe joins Saga in July having previously been deputy managing director and commercial director for Wendy Wu Tours. 

He will be responsible for all Saga Holidays long haul product and joins the company at a critical time as it pushes forward with expanding its product range.

Mark Woodcock, product and purchasing director for Saga Holidays said: “Joe joins at an exciting time for Saga Holidays with our ambitious plans to grow and expand.

“I am delighted Joe will be joining us, and will be bringing with him a wealth of product knowledge.

“He will be joining a team of incredibly talented individuals who help set apart Saga Holidays with their incredible knowledge and enthusiasm for the destinations they look after”.

Prior to his wide-ranging role with Wendy Wu Tours, Sutcliffe was product manager for Africa & Asia with STA Travel and went on to join Bridge the World as head of product and marketing when STA Travel acquired the brand name, helping to relaunch it into the UK market.

Sutcliffe commented regarding the announcement: “I’m thrilled to be joining Saga Holidays, it’s a brand I have long admired and I am confident I can make a real difference and help drive the growth of their long-haul programme.

“I cannot wait to get my teeth into putting together some fantastic new itineraries for customers.

“I’m passionate about travel and service and am really looking forward to building on the expertise of the team and the wonderful range of products they have created.”