The accolades recognise outstanding customer service, giving back to local communities, making strides in sustainability and the contributions of unsung team heroes.
There is also an award for an industry figure whose career has had a significant impact on travel retail.
The awards are free to enter and are open until midnight Friday 21 February. Winners will be revealed during the Top 50 ceremony at Manchester’s Victoria Warehouse on Thursday 24 April.
The Intrepid Sustainable Travel Champion is open to individual agents, as well as to agency teams, who have worked hard in the past 12 months to learn about and promote sustainable travel to their customers, and/or to take steps to run their own business more sustainably. That might include doing training on sustainable travel, promoting sustainable travel in marketing, and proactively recommending certain suppliers because of their sustainability credentials.
The Customer Service Champion will recognise an individual agent who has gone to extraordinary lengths for one particular client in the past year. If you or a colleague has gone above and beyond to look after a customer in difficulty, a client with complex requirements, or to make an experience extra-special for your customer, please tell us all about it!
The Tui Community Hero Award is open to individual agents, as well as to agencies/agency teams, who have worked hard in the past 12 months to give back to the local community either here in the UK or in overseas destinations to which they travel. That might include raising money, volunteering, successful partnerships, and giving opportunities to those that need them most.
The Visit Malta Unsung Hero Award recognises team members who are not in a customer-facing role, but whose energy, diligence and positivity light up the day and play an important part in a travel agency’s team spirit and success. Nominees might be in back-office roles such as admin, marketing or accounts and could work in head office for an agency group, as well as in a high street branch or office-based agency. We’ll need you to explain how they go above and beyond to support their teammates and the business, and how they bring a positive attitude to work each day.
For these four awards, judges will decide a shortlist of five finalists and an overall winner. Finalists will be invited to attend the Top 50 ceremony with a complimentary ticket.
Meanwhile, The Contribution to Travel Award, sponsored by Iberostar, will recognise a unique individual who has made a standout contribution to the retail sector in the UK or Irish travel markets. TTG’s senior editorial team will make their own recommendations, but nominations are very much welcome.
Last year’s accolade went to Thorne Travel founder Shona Thorne, with previous recipients including Barrhead Travel president Jacqueline Dobson, Phil Nuttall, CEO of The Travel Village Group, and Althams Travel managing director, Sandra McAllister.
