Companies and individuals across 19 categories took home trophies, including Edwina Lonsdale, managing director of Mundy Cruising, who was presented with the Contribution to Luxury Travel accolade for her years of dedication to luxury cruise.
During the afternoon ceremony at Raffles London at The OWO, Audley Travel was presented with the award for Luxury Travel Workplace of the Year, while If Only took home the trophy for Luxury Trade Support Team of the Year.
All winners picked up their trophies among 350 leading luxury travel industry figures in attendance, marking the largest ever outing for the event, with guests also enjoying a unique musical set from London’s Brixton Chamber Orchestra, and helping to raise £5,000 for charity Shelter.
In one of the most hotly contested categories, Thys Taljaard, head chef skills developer of Singita, won the award for Sustainability Hero of the Year, with judges saying: “We were deeply moved by what Thys has achieved and the change he has been able to create. His mentorship and leadership have created a true legacy and brought opportunities and social and economic mobility that will have a positive impact for generations to come.”
Angela Mayall of Designer Travel was crowned Luxury Travel Designer of the Year, while Swords Travel’s Hollie Stillion picked up the award for New Luxury Travel Designer of the Year.
Dan Salmon, founder of Never A Wasted Journey won the Luxury Travel Big Idea award, in recognition of the book he wrote about his life which he then also used as a business tool to win new clients and remind existing ones of his experience.
The Inverness branch of Murray Travel was awarded Luxury Travel Agency of the Year (sole store), with manager Carla Murdoch collecting the trophy.
Other agency awards were also given to SixStarCruises, Ten Lifestyle Group, Designer Travel and Cartology Travel. Carrier was awarded Luxury Operator of the Year and Inside Travel Group scooped the trophy for Specialist Luxury Operator.
Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas and Virgin Limited Edition won the hotel group awards, while Silversea and Celebrity Cruises were the winning cruise lines on the day. ANA All Nippon Airways was the winner of the Premium Air Experience category.
April Hutchinson, editor and publisher of TTG Luxury, said: “It was amazing to see so many people from across the luxury travel sector gathered at such a prestigious venue on such a special day. We pored over almost 200 entries to get our shortlist, and a huge thanks to the 27 judges we called on to make the final decisions for all our winners across the 19 categories. The sector constantly proves its resilience, and how important it is to take care of customers, colleagues and communities – huge congratulations to all.”
There were more than 120 travel companies on this year’s overall shortlist, and all entrants had to give a detailed entry submission covering a wide range of areas, such as operations; customer service; staff care; and innovation in product, as well as demonstrating their commitment to running a Smarter, Better, Fairer business, in line with TTG Media’s own core purpose. Entries were then judged by panels of industry experts.
The event was held in Raffles London at The OWO’s incredible Whitehall Ballroom and The Lawrence events spaces, created within the walls of the original Old War Office, which was built in 1906 and was the former site of the original Palace of Whitehall.
This location even inspired Ian Fleming to write the James Bond series after working for Britain’s Naval Intelligence Service there, and the hotel features The Spy Bar, a late-night subterranean speakeasy in rooms once used by MI5.
The TTG Luxury Travel Awards launched in 2018 as the luxury travel trade’s first-ever multi-sector recognition initiative. The awards highlight the very best luxury travel brands and individuals across aviation, hotels, tour operating, cruise, and travel advisors, as well as leaders in sustainability.
