- Carly Charteris appointed as AITO’s new Head of Membership, commencing 1st September 2026
- Charteris brings over 30 years of travel industry experience to the role
- She joins from Discover Qatar, where she served as Regional Sales Manager since 2023
- AITO represents more than 100 UK independent specialist travel tour operators
- The association celebrates its 50th anniversary this year
AITO, the Middlesex based specialist travel association, has appointed Carly Charteris as its new head of membership, bringing more than 30 years of travel industry experience to the role. She has begun preparing for her new position, which commences on 1st September 2026, and will focus on strengthening engagement with the association’s existing membership base of over 100 UK independent specialist tour operators.
Charteris joins AITO from Discover Qatar, where she served as Regional Sales Manager since 2023. Based in Doha, she led sales and sales support teams working with B2B trade partners across five global markets, including the UK and Ireland, Europe, North America, Latin America, and Australia and New Zealand. Prior to joining Discover Qatar, she spent almost a decade as National Sales Manager at independent luxury tour operator Premier Holidays, where she developed relationships with agents, managed key commercial partnerships, and supported sales and marketing activity. She previously held sales and business development roles with The Global Travel Group, Villa Plus, and RCI Europe, and worked as a Travel Counsellor for four years.
In her new role at AITO, Charteris will identify opportunities to grow the community of specialist travel businesses. The association, founded in 1976 and celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, represents over 100 of the UK’s best independent tour operators who collectively provide an unrivalled range of holidays to every corner of the world. AITO members and travel agents combined generate £1.1Billion revenue annually, and all members adhere to a strict code of conduct that includes providing consumer financial protection in line with Package Travel Regulations.
Martyn Sumners, Executive Director of AITO, shared “Carly brings extensive experience in B2B travel, with a strong track record of building relationships, developing partnerships and supporting business growth.”
Carly Charteris, Head of Memberships at AITO, shared “Building strong relationships has been at the heart of my career, so the opportunity to bring that experience to AITO and work closely with its membership is particularly exciting.”
