Wendy Wu Tours Appoints Maura Doran as Sales Executive Amid Irish Market Expansion

Wendy Wu Tours has announced the appointment of Maura Doran as Sales Executive, Ireland, marking another major step in the operator's ambitious expansion across the Republic of Ireland. The appointment follows a period of exceptional growth and significant investment in the Irish market, including doubling its dedicated team, introducing dedicated Irish booking and marketing infrastructure, and rolling out an expanded portfolio of worldwide touring holidays.

Doran brings more than 25 years of travel industry experience to the role, including over 20 years with O'Leary Travel and almost five years with Best4Travel, where she established herself as an award-winning retail travel manager. With extensive experience in sales, customer relationships, and branch management, she has a particular passion for long-haul, touring, cruising, and experiential travel, along with first-hand knowledge of destinations across Asia and beyond.

Already a familiar face to Wendy Wu Tours, Doran has worked closely with the operator over the past two years, collaborating on customer webinars, social media campaigns, and joint events. Her appointment brings valuable frontline retail expertise into the operator's expanding Irish trade team, strengthening its ability to support agents with product knowledge, training, and customer engagement.

Reporting to Kelly Hutchinson, Business Development Manager NI & ROI, Doran will help extend Wendy Wu Tours' reach across the Republic of Ireland, with a particular focus on developing agent relationships, delivering dedicated training and increasing joint activity with trade partners. She will also join the operator's major China MegaFam in November, gaining further first-hand destination experience ahead of the important January peak booking period.

Gary King, Head of Trade Sales at Wendy Wu Tours, said, "Republic of Ireland is an incredibly exciting market for Wendy Wu Tours, and the growth we've achieved reflects both the appetite for our style of travel and the strength of the relationships we've built with Irish agents. We've invested substantially in the market over the past 18 months, and Maura's appointment is another important step in taking that commitment even further.

"Maura brings something particularly valuable to our business – more than two decades of experience working directly with travel agents' customers, combined with a genuine passion for long-haul touring and an established understanding of Wendy Wu Tours. We're ambitious about what we can achieve in Ireland, and with Kelly and Maura working together, we're putting the people, products and support in place to deliver that next phase of growth."

The appointment is part of a wider investment programme in the Republic of Ireland. Over the past 18 months, Wendy Wu Tours has introduced flights from Ireland, euro pricing, dedicated Irish consumer and trade websites, and an expanding collection of Ireland-specific brochures. With increased support from its UK-based reservations, operations, and marketing teams, these developments are designed to make it easier than ever for Irish travel agents to sell the operator's worldwide touring holidays.

The product expansion has been particularly significant. After launching its first dedicated Irish brochure in summer 2025, Wendy Wu Tours quickly expanded the collection to five brochures and is now working to offer its full worldwide touring portfolio in the Republic of Ireland. Collections covering China, Japan, India, Southeast Asia, Cruise & Tour, and Latin America are already available, with Africa scheduled to launch in November and the operator's new USA & Canada collection planned for the January 2027 peak trading period.

The investment comes against a backdrop of exceptional commercial performance, with year-to-date sales in the Republic of Ireland up 145% compared with the same period in 2025. Japan remains the operator's most popular destination, accounting for approximately 45% of sales revenue, followed by China at around 30%. Demand is also becoming increasingly diverse, with consistent sales across Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent, alongside growing interest in destinations including Bhutan, Nepal, Mongolia, and Central Asia.

Kelly Hutchinson, Business Development Manager NI & ROI at Wendy Wu Tours, said, "It's been fantastic to see how strongly Wendy Wu Tours has grown in Ireland, and particularly how our relationships with the travel trade have developed. Irish agents have really embraced the brand, and we've worked hard to give them the tools, products and support they need to confidently recommend our holidays to their customers.

"Having Maura join the team is a hugely exciting development. I've worked with her for several years from the retail side, so I know first-hand her enthusiasm, experience, and commitment to her customers. She understands the Irish travel trade inside out, and together we'll be able to get out to even more agents, deliver more training and events, and really build on the momentum we've created. With so much new product coming into the market, the opportunities ahead are tremendous."

For Doran, the move offers a chance to bring her extensive retail experience and passion for worldwide travel to a brand she has championed throughout her career.

Maura Doran, Sales Executive, Ireland, said, "Having spent more than 24 years working in retail travel, I know just how important it is for agents to have the right support, product knowledge and confidence in the operators they're recommending. I've always had a real passion for long-haul travel and discovering extraordinary destinations, so joining Wendy Wu Tours feels like a very natural next step for me.

"I've had the pleasure of working with Kelly and the Wendy Wu Tours team on customer events and campaigns over the past couple of years, and I've seen first-hand the enthusiasm customers have for the brand. I'm really looking forward to getting out across Ireland, reconnecting with familiar faces, meeting new agents and helping them discover everything Wendy Wu Tours has to offer. And heading to China so soon after joining is a brilliant way to start!"

For more information, visit www.wendywutours.ie