Snowmaggedon saw a thousand flights cancelled and airports across the UK and Ireland closed as runways were cleared of snow and ice.

But what quickly became clear – just as during the ash cloud crisis eight years ago – was the value of booking with an agent. We’ve heard stories this week from Cartwright Travel’s Steve Cartwright, who drove through the storm to take a client from Cardiff to Heathrow to make his flight, and from Thorne Travel’s Shona Thorne, who spent so long on the phone rearranging one customer’s holiday the client said “it felt like she had made a new best friend”.

Examples such as these demonstrate the incredible lengths consultants will go to, to ensure clients have safe and enjoyable trips.

And these are the kind of stories we hope to unearth as we start our search for the UK and Ireland’s top consultants, in the TTG Travel Awards 2018.

While our TTG Top 50 Travel Agencies initiative recognises retailers at branch and company level, the agent categories in the TTG Travel Awards focus on the achievements of individual consultants. And new for 2018 is a category for managers, whether of a high street branch or call centre team, who have steered their sales team to success.

Our 7 agent categories sit alongside 17 categories for suppliers, from cruise lines and operators to tourist boards and technology companies. And we’re excited to be holding this year’s awards in association with Norwegian Cruise Line, which is supporting the event for the second time.

You’ll find more about the categories and criteria on our Awards page.

If you’ve had a storming performance in the last 12 months, don’t miss your chance to shine!