Airtours boss David Crossland quips that he has no intention of "doing a Fergie" and reversing his decision to bow out of the holiday giant he created.

But when he unpacks his bags following the world tour which he plans with wife Anne after stepping down in November to spend more time on his investments and with his family, will he really be able to resist the urge to dip a toe in the travel waters again?

Over the past 30 years, the workaholic has grown Airtours from a two travel-shop agency in Rossendale into Britain's biggest package tour operator with £5bn sales a year.

True, the firm has had a tough couple of years, but he has always said he found the challenges "fun".

And after he's had a break, it's hard to think of him twiddling his thumbs at his Jersey home when there may be fresh challenges round the corner.

Born salesmen don't easily settle for pipe and slippers.

Airtours has had its critics, though it says only a fraction of its holidaymakers have complaints.

Region's 'friend'

But David Crossland has certainly been a friend to this region. The firm, which now becomes My Travel, has, for example, spawned jobs - it now employs 27,000 people.

The Crosslands and Airtours have also given a huge boost to Manchester's Christie Hospital. Airtours staff, who collected holidaymakers' unwanted foreign coins on flights and fun fund-raising events in resorts throughout the world, brought in £545,000 for the cancer hospital's £25m centenary appeal last year. Mr and Mrs Crossland then made a personal gift of £455,000 to take the total to £1m.

Mr Crossland said at the time he had been moved to help because he had a friend who had cancer.

"When you come close to cancer, you come close to a place like Christie," he said thoughtfully. And he has clearly been musing on his own health and future. "For the last 10 years of your life, you stop being as fit as you were and your brain slows down. If you look at it that way, I've probably got 10 years to enjoy the fruits of my labours, while everything is still in working order," he smiles.

Like Sir Alex Ferguson, Mr Crossland's decision to bow out has coincided not with him being right at the top, as he would have wished, but midway through recovery.

Sir Alex has postponed his retirement. Perhaps the early-rising Mr Crossland, who named his boat The Sunrise because he has seen so many of them, might decide to plump for new ventures after a chance to reflect during his own long holiday.