As far as award nights go, NTIA 2024 was epic. Over 1,300 attendees, 198 finalists and 38 award winners gathered for the travel industry’s night of nights in Sydney on Saturday night – and this after a bigger than usual lead up to the event following Friday’s first Beyond Borders Travel Summit (where ATIA unveiled a raft of major initiatives), a Finalists Celebration on Friday evening and Karryon’s Glam Club event just before the gala.
With the support of major sponsor Singapore Airlines, the National Travel Industry Awards (NTIAs) were also sold out well in advance of the evening, which returned to Sydney this year after moving to Melbourne in 2023.
Speaking at the gala, Australia Travel Industry Association (ATIA) CEO Dean Long highlighted the travel community’s unity, with 11 of 12 ATIA directors present at the awards – the highest number ever.
Long also emphasised the night’s main purpose: honouring each finalist.
“I’m going to ask one person, each company finalist and each individual finalist to stand up – tonight is actually about your achievements,” he stated.
But to use an old cliche (and Hot Chocolate classic), everyone felt like a winner on a night that is as much about celebrating the highs of the past 12 months in travel as it is about the actual award winners. Almost.
From agencies to airlines and everyone in between, the NTIAs are where industry legends, rising stars and innovative brands come together to celebrate travel’s top achievers. So, who walked away with the awards?
Taking home arguably the most prestigious award for Most Outstanding Travel Consultant (Leisure) was Back Track Adventures’ Emma Smith, while the Most Outstanding Travel Consultant (Corporate) award winner was Mobilise Travel’s Jaime McLeod.
Other individual award winners included Flight Centre’s Rosie Loxley for Most Outstanding Travel Agency Manager, MTA – Mobile Travel Agents’ Donna Jones for Most Outstanding Mobile / Home Based Travel Advisor, and RACQ Travel’s Rachel Horsburgh for Rookie of the Year.
Meanwhile, Bicton Travel won the award for Most Outstanding Leisure Travel Agency – Multi Location, while Planetdwellers Travel Tours & Events and Frank Ford Travel both won the prize for Most Outstanding Leisure Travel Agency – Single Location.
Among the group winners, the Most Outstanding Travel Agency Network award went to Travellers Choice, the Most Outstanding Branded Travel Agency Group was Travel Associates and the Most Outstanding Mobile Advisor Network was TravelManagers Australia.
On the supplier side, The Travel Corporation – TTC Tour Brands’ Carla Dabit won the award for Most Outstanding Sales Executive – Tour Operator, APT Group’s Barbara Baron won Most Outstanding Sales Executive – Cruise, and United Airlines’ Richard Carrick was awarded Most Outstanding Sales Executive – Air.
Elsewhere, Intrepid picked up the Most Outstanding Tour Operator – Global gong, Viva Holidays won the Most Outstanding Wholesaler – Product / Service award, and Adventure World and Sno’n’Ski were the equal winners of the Most Outstanding Wholesaler – Destination / Experience award. Viking was honoured as the Most Popular Ocean Cruise Operator.
New venue for 2025!
Speaking at the gala, Long also revealed the surprise venue for NTIA 2025: Brisbane. Next year’s travel industry awards night will take place in the Queensland capital on 18 October.
Karryon congratulates everyone who took home a gong as well as all the finalists.
Here are all the winners
| CATEGORY | WINNER | COMPANY (IF APPLICABLE) | SPONSORED BY |
| Most Outstanding Travel Agency Manager | Rosie Loxley | Flight Centre | Silversea |
| Most Outstanding Mobile / Home Based Travel Advisor | Donna Jones | MTA – Mobile Travel Agents | Visit Qatar |
| Most Outstanding Employee Engagement and Recruitment Program | Phil Hoffmann Travel | Travel Trade Recruitment | |
| Most Outstanding Travel Industry Training Institution | Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) | Air New Zealand | |
| Most Outstanding Sales Executive – Air | Richard Carrick | United Airlines | CVFR Payments |
| Most Outstanding Sales Executive – Hotels / Car Hire | Bianca Phillis | IHG Hotels & Resorts | Qantas Airways |
| Most Popular Accommodation Group / Chain | Club Med | Stuba | |
| Most Outstanding Consumer Travel Journalist | Jessica Lockhart | TTC Tour Brands | |
| Most Outstanding Sales Executive – Tour Operator | Carla Dabit | The Travel Corporation – TTC Tour Brands | Cover-More Travel Insurance |
| Most Outstanding Sales Executive – Wholesaler | Jackie Gordon | Viva Holidays, Readyrooms, Cruiseco | Virgin Australia |
| Most Outstanding Sales Executive – Cruise | Barbara Baron | APT Group | MTA – Mobile Travel Agents |
| Most Popular Car Rental Operator | Avis | ATIA | |
| Most Popular Tourism Office | Tourism New Zealand/Manaakitanga Aotearoa | Sabre Travel Network | |
| Most Popular Airline – Offline | Lufthansa Group | CVFR Airline Rep Services | |
| Rookie of the Year | Rachel Horsburgh | RACQ Travel | Qantas Airways |
| Most Outstanding Travel Consultant Corporate | Jaime McLeod | Mobilise Travel | Qatar Airways |
| Most Outstanding Travel Consultant Leisure | Emma Smith | Back Track Adventures | Wendy Wu Tours |
| Sustainability Award – Supplier | Lindblad Expeditions National Geographic | ETG | |
| Sustainability Award – ATAS Accredited Agency | Reho Travel | APT Travel Group | |
| Most Popular Airline – Online | Singapore Airlines | CVFR Consolidation Services | |
| Innovation in Travel Support Services | SmartRefunds | Air Tickets | Wendy Wu Tours |
| Most Outstanding Marketing Campaign | Trafalgar Unlocked | Trafalgar Tours | Expedia TAAP |
| Most Outstanding Global Travel Management Company | ATPI | Virgin Australia | |
| Most Outstanding Australian-Owned Travel Management Company | Spencer Travel | Singapore Airlines | |
| Most Popular River Cruise Operator | Uniworld Boutique River Cruises | Envoyage | |
| Most Popular Ocean Cruise Operator | Viking | Amadeus | |
| Most Outstanding Business Events Travel Agency | The Incentive Lab | Gow-Gates Insurance Brokers | |
| Most Outstanding Online Travel Agency | Luxury Escapes | Singapore Airlines | |
| Most Outstanding Leisure Travel Agency – Single Location | Planetdwellers Travel Tours & Events | Expedia TAAP | |
| Most Outstanding Leisure Travel Agency – Single Location | Frank Ford Travel | Expedia TAAP | |
| Most Outstanding Leisure Travel Agency – Multi Location | Bicton Travel | Singapore Airlines | |
| Most Outstanding Tour Operator – Specialised | Albatross Tours | TravelPay | |
| Most Outstanding Wholesaler – Destination / Experience | Adventure World | Helloworld Travel Limited | |
| Most Outstanding Wholesaler – Destination / Experience | Sno’n’Ski | Helloworld Travel Limited | |
| Most Outstanding Tour Operator – Global | Intrepid | Singapore Tourism Board | |
| Most Outstanding Wholesaler – Product / Service | Viva Holidays | American Express | |
| Most Outstanding Mobile Advisor Network | TravelManagers Australia | Cover-More Travel Insurance | |
| Most Outstanding Travel Agency Network | Travellers Choice | Royal Caribbean International | |
| Most Outstanding Branded Travel Agency Group | Travel Associates | Singapore Airlines | |
| Peoples Choice Award | JC Travel Professionals | News Corp ESCAPE | |
| Life Member | Tom Manwaring |
On Friday, the Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA) unveiled a raft of initiatives aimed at transforming the travel sector.
Announced during the inaugural Beyond Borders Summit in Sydney. The new measures are part of a multi-year strategy called Project A30, which ATIA says is a comprehensive reset for the association – and in some ways, the entire travel industry. Read our comprehensive breakdown of how ATIA plans to do this.
