They came, they saw, they partied… Sydney’s historic Town Hall was the perfect setting for a Travellers Choice awards night that pulled out all the stops for guests.
Inside one of Sydney’s most iconic buildings, the Australian Girls Choir, kicked off proceedings with a beautiful rendition of I Still Call Australia Home before cranking it up with a lively take on Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now, which was especially apt given the year that Travellers Choice has had.
But the night, sponsored by the Flying Kangaroo, was mostly about the members and the awards… and indeed, there were many of those, with Travellers Choice members (and one lucky supplier) walking away with dozens of prizes.
The biggest winners on the night were the Choice Awards champions, who are recognised for their support of the network’s preferred suppliers.
The winners of these gongs, 30 in total, will also enjoy exclusive journeys as rewards – because Travellers Choice walks the walk when it says it takes care of its own.
Choice Awards winners (10 members in each of the Gold, Silver and Bronze categories) will choose between journeys to Slovenia and Croatia with Bunnik Tours, the Mekong with Emerald Cruises and Arnhem Land with Journey Beyond. Teased on the big screen on the night, all three trips look amazing.
Travellers Choice Managing Director Christian Hunter says this year’s Choice Award winners were key to the group’s record-breaking 2024.
“Travellers Choice exceeded all expectations this year by announcing the largest profit in our company’s history, with the vast majority of those funds flowing back to our members,” he stated.
“This result would simply not have been possible without the extraordinary efforts of our Choice Award winners, many of whom are continuing to operate with reduced staffing levels.
“The Choice Reward Trips are our way of saying ‘thank you’ for contributing so much to our entire group’s ongoing success.”
2024 GOLD CHOICE AWARD WINNERS
- Endeavour Travel & Cruise
- Everywhere Travel
- Home and Afar Travel
- Jamison Travel
- Oliver Travel
- Panorama Cruise & Travel
- Select World Travel
- Top Deck Travel
- Travel Makers
- Windsong Travel
2024 SILVER CHOICE AWARD WINNERS
- Ucango Travel & Cruise Centre
- Hastwell Travel & Cruise
- Capricorn Travel
- Ballina Cruise & Travel
- Travel & Cruise Professionals
- Whyalla Travel & Cruise
- Chris Watson Travel
- Kawana Waters Travel
- Easy Travel and Cruise
- Tailor Made Travel Mt Gambier
2024 BRONZE AWARD WINNERS
- Aspire Travel & Cruise
- City Beach Travel & Cruise
- Queanbeyan City Travel & Cruise
- All About Travel
- Carine Travel Bug
- Tewantin Travel
- James St Cruise & Travel
- Belmore Travel
- Mudgee Travel & Cruise
- Tour de France Travel
Elsewhere, the Leading Agency Award honoured one member for their success, group contributions and active use of TC’s support services – plus, they snag a Travellers Choice Service Grant.
The winner of the 2024 Leading Agency Award was South Australia’s Travel and Cruise Professionals.
Meanwhile, the gala’s Service Awards honours long-standing agency members and staff, starting at 10 years and every five years thereafter.
One agency, Adelaide’s Hastwell Travel & Cruise, marked 30 years with Travellers Choice, while Perth’s Capricorn Travel even celebrated an amazing 40 years with the organisation.
A nice touch on the evening was the look back by award presenter, Travellers Choice General Manager of Sales, Nicola Strudwick. In 1984, when Capricorn Travel joined, a small jar of Vegemite became the first electronically scanned item at a supermarket in Australia (for 66 cents). Such longevity with a consortia is a testament Travellers Choice’s appeal.
SERVICE AWARDS
- 40 years – Capricorn Travel (Cameron Thorpe and Siobhan Da Silva)
- 30 years – Hastwell Travel & Cruise (Mark and Trinity Hastwell)
- 25 years – Jamison Travel (Michelle Everson)
- 20 years – Compass Travel & Cruising (Lynn Bradley)
- 15 years – Ballina Cruise & Travel (Mark Brady), Boomerang Cruise & Travel (Debi Kit), Thornleigh Cruise & Travel (Hughla McLaren), Travel Makers (Phil and Janet Dalley)
- 10 years – Argyle Travel and Cruise (Naome Burdon), Endeavour Travel & Cruise (Mike O’Leary), Everywhere Travel (Dianne Ramirez & Claire Van Dongen), Naracoorte Travel n Cruise (Kate Harvey), Panorama Cruise & Travel (Caroline Sage), Travel and Cruise Ceduna (Tullie Seneca), Travel and Cruise Professionals (Brian Bennett), Weston Cruise & Travel (Chris Watson)
“Collectively, this years’ Service Award winners represent 450 years of loyal membership – that’s a remarkable testament to just how much our members value being part of Australia’s leading network for independent travel agents,” says Hunter.
Among the Travellers Choice staff recognised for their service were MD Hunter for 20 years of service at the group, Jane Southee (15 years) and Graham Smith (10 years).
An APT and Marvel-lous winner
Another big gong was the Supplier of the Year Award, which lets Travellers Choice members nominate their top three suppliers based on support, service and product range. All preferred suppliers are eligible, and every member gets a say. This year’s winner was APT & Travelmarvel.
Meanwhile, the Supplier’s Choice Awards go to agents nominated by Travellers Choice partners for excellence in sales, growth, local initiatives, product knowledge and professionalism.
With these awards presented earlier in the day, the biggest winners were Jamison Travel (five awards), Home and Afar Travel (four), and Endeavour Travel & Cruise, Panorama Cruise & Travel and Ucango Travel & Cruise Centre three awards each).
The Travellers Choice conference comes just a week after the network itself took home (for the fourth straight year) the award for the Most Outstanding Travel Agency Network at the National Travel Industry Awards (NTIA). In a chat with Karryon, Hunter shares what the win means for the group.
Catch up with more from the conference here. And find out why the Travellers Choice conference showed why it’s cool (and profitable) to be kind.
For more information on Travellers Choice visit www.travelagentschoice.com.au.
All images by Mark Harada.
