Sunvil managing director Chris Wright, who participated in a joint Sunvil-Abta LifeLine team, told TTG the team had given Roger the Recovery Truck to the international Ukraine Front Line coalition in the hope the vehicle would "assist in the cause over there".
Wright was joined on the road by Sunvil colleague Julia Manetas and Abta LifeLine director Trudie Clements to create team Bounce Backers, raising £5,600 for LifeLine and Help for Heroes.
Launched in 2013, the crusade returned for its fifth – and final – edition this year after a Covid-enforced pause, and saw participants take part in a three-day rally earlier this month across France, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.
"It was good to be back after such a hiatus, but it was sad at the same time as this was the last edition,” said Wright, who has taken part in four of the five crusades.
Previous editions saw Wright and his teammates rally across Europe in a lurid pink van topped with a stiletto in homage to the 1994 film The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert. Wright is also selling off the giant silver stiletto.
"We all had a really good trip and enjoyed ourselves and raised a lot of money for charity," said Wright. "Hopefully it was a good finish to what has been a successful charity even over the past few years."
The team even managed to catch an England game while they were in Germany, with the journey coinciding with the 2024 European Championships in the country.
Over five editions of the Travel Trade Crusade, nearly £240,000 has been raised for charity. This year’s event supported 19 charities which, besides LifeLine and Help for Heroes, included Macmillan Cancer Support, Mind and Reuben’s Retreat, raising more than £70,000.
This year’s sponsors and participants included the likes of headline sponsor Holiday Extras, as well as Not Just Travel, Elite Island Resorts and Beachcomber Tours, plus a number of agency entrants. In total, 17 teams took part.
Beachcomber UK sales manager Sarah Archer said the team behind the crusade felt they had "unfinished business" after 2019, but confirmed 2024 would be the last edition of the crusade. "We have concluded the crusades on a high and I feel content the job is finished."
Archer also confirmed all emissions from the crusade – 10.74 tonnes of CO2e – were offset by clear.eco, an offsetting outfit certified by the Quality Assurance Standard for Carbon Offsetting, while a further 10.74 tonnes of CO2e were retired making the offset carbon negative.
