Maldivian wholesaler Hummingbird Travel has opened its first office in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region.

The brand has taken over an office in Sofia, Bulgaria previously belonging to Italy’s flag carrier, Alitalia.

The office will be headed up by Nina Pavlova, who has worked for Alitalia for over 26 years. Pavlova was most recently area manager for the CEE region, covering Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo.

Hummingbird’s chief executive Tom Chambers said: “Well known in the region and highly respected, Nina built up a loyal client base for Alitalia over the years and it is great that she will now be putting her considerable talents to promoting Hummingbird and the Indian Ocean throughout the CEE region.”

Pavlova added: “After over 26 years of working in the airline industry, going through all levels of the hierarchy – from ticketing agent, finance manager to becoming the area manager for the Balkan and CEE area - I have decided to take on a new challenge and join the team of one of the most important wholesalers and ground handlers in the Indian Ocean - Hummingbird Travel.

“I am sure that my passion, hard work, dynamic and result-driven sales and development strategies will help achieve the desired portfolio expansion in eastern Europe."

Hummingbird was established in 1989 and has been largely credited with introducing the Indian Ocean, namely the Maldives, to the CEE market. 

The brand - which currently has offices in the Maldives, the UK, Seychelles and Sri Lanka and sales representatives in the US, Spain, Denmark, South America and the UK - said it has plans to open further regional offices in the area. 

It has also expanded its London office, which has doubled in size in the last year.