The TTG Luxury Travel Awards was the biggest to date, welcoming 300 guests from across the luxury travel sector. 

Now in its fifth outing, there were also more winners than ever before, with companies and individuals recognised across 18 categories.

Among the big winners on the day was Swords Travel, which scooped three awards, including Luxury Travel Agency of the Year (sole store) and two new categories, Luxury Homeworking Business of the Year (small) and Luxury Travel Big Idea of the Year. 

The Wimbledon agency picked up the award for their innovative approach to partner marketing. 

Also taking home two trophies was Celebrity Cruises, which won Premium Cruise Line of the Year for the second year running, and also picked up Luxury Trade Support Team of the Year, a new award for 2023, designed to spotlight those who focus on amazing relationships with travel advisors. 

Carrier also took home two awards – for Luxury Operator of the year, the fifth time the company has won the trophy, and Luxury Travel Workplace of the Year, which was also a new category for 2023. 

Ross Johnson, founder of Travlux was recognised as New Travel Designer of the Year, while Justin Huxter, founder of Cartology Travel won Luxury Travel Designer of the Year. 

Other award recipients included Roque Sevilla, chair of Metropolitan Touring, a worthy winner of Sustainability Hero of the Year, while Roy Collett, founder and brand ambassador of Colletts Travel was honoured with the prestigious Contribution to Luxury Travel award. 

The Travelling Hands wowed attendees with two sets of uplifting music as they roamed the ballroom of The Biltmore, a new venue for the awards, while guests also enjoyed welcome drinks in partnership with Global Travel Collection.  

The generous guests at this year’s awards raised vital funds for Just a Drop, which will go to construct a rainwater harvesting tank for the Kavuvwani Primary School, which sits on the edge of the famous bucket list destination of Tsavo National Park in Kenya.  

“Much of the work that we do is in areas in which tourism is prevalent and luxurious, but where the local populations are often overlooked. For example, in Kenya where your generosity is really going make a difference,” Fiona Jeffery OBE, founder of Just a Drop, told attendees. 

Guests were spurred to raise funds by raffle prizes provided by headline sponsor Silversea and Hilton Luxury Brands, which the host hotel is part of.

The TTG Luxury Travel Awards launched in 2018 as the luxury travel trade’s first multi-sector recognition initiative. 

They represent a true celebration of the best luxury travel brands and individuals across aviation, hotels, tour operating, cruise, and travel advisors, as well as recognising leaders in sustainability. 

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. 

TTG Luxury editor April Hutchinson said: “The TTG Luxury Travel Awards shine a light on travel companies and individuals across our sector who go above and beyond for their customers. They constantly rise to challenges, and continue to innovate and wow their guests and industry partners. We also place emphasis on recognising those who make a positive contribution in the area of sustainability and community engagement, as well as taking care of their team. 

“These were the most well-entered awards we have ever operated, a wonderful reminder of how amazingly the luxury travel sector continues to thrive and bounce back. Huge congratulations to all our winners – they truly deserve it.” 

The full list of winners and more information on the awards initiative can be found online.