The Travel Corporation appoints former VisitBritain director to drive ecommerce strategy

Carol Dray left VisitBritain in December

Former VisitBritain commercial director Carol Dray has joined Trafalgar Tours and Contiki parent The Travel Corporation to lead its ecommerce strategy.

Dray joined this month in the newly created role of director of ecommerce and partner integration having left VisitBritain in December.

She has extensive experience in the travel and leisure sectors having worked in senior positions for the likes of lastminute.com, Thomas Cook, Avis, Sportingbet and Travelzest.

London-based, family-owned TTC said Dray will play a key role as part of an ongoing focus on the development of its ecommerce proposition through a data-led approach.

The firm added that new and existing trade partners will play a key role in the business development strategy through new API (Application Programme Interface) technology integrations and whitel label agreements.

As well as Trafalgar and Contiki, TTC’s portfolio of brands incudes Red Carnation Hotels, Uniworld River Cruise Collection and Insight Vacations among a total of 42 brands.

Dray said: “I am joining TTC at a hugely exciting time, as it prioritises and invests in technology to enhance both its ecommerce strategy and its service delivery.

“It’s a company that has always been driven by service, and with the depth and breadth of its brands, its commitment to innovation and personalisation and the imminent and ongoing launch of various products and services, we’re going to make it easier than ever before for our partners and guests to do business with us. I’m excited to be part of that.”

Gunjan Verma, chief technology officer at TTC, added: “We are delighted to have Carol join our team.

“She has a keen eye for strategic business development, brings excellent commercial acumen and a proven track record in seamless execution and project delivery. We’re all looking forward to working with her.”

While at VisitBritain, Dray oversaw partnerships and trade distribution and led the development and launch of new product distribution marketplace Tourism Exchange Great Britain (TXGB),a B2B platform linking local suppliers with global distributors.

Dray spent her early career in the travel sector in senior positions across sales, marketing and commercial at Avis, Hertz, British Airways, Flightcentre, Lastminute.com and Thomas Cook.

Outside of travel she has worked in senior marketing roles in the world of online gambling at Sportingbet and Rank and held the position of chief marketing officer at online retailer Rakuten, the Japanese ecommerce giant.