Last year it was 50 that took on a whole new significance for us with the launch of the first TTG Top 50 Travel Agencies programme. Culminating in our first Top 50 awards in Birmingham last April, the initiative really caught the imagination of travel agents throughout the UK and Ireland.

More than 500 registered for the project in year one, with Lancashire’s Garstang Travel named the Top Travel Agency after the TTG editorial team and our supplier partners visited shortlisted agents throughout the country.

Now we are embarking on a whole new programme, with new headline partner Kuoni, a second awards ceremony set for Birmingham on March 13, 2017, and other changes, including the introduction of the Weddings and Honeymoons Agency category.

It was fantastic to see so many agents come forward to join the initiative, but the real joy has been seeing how the TTG Top 50 brand quickly took on a life of its own.

The logo has been used in travel agency windows, A-boards, t-shirts, badges, websites and more - just go on Twitter or Facebook and search #ttgtop50. Our winning agencies said it was the way that the TTG Top 50 helped them stand out in their communities, though, that was their biggest win.

I urge travel agencies throughout the UK and Ireland to give themselves the best chance of joining their ranks by registering for the TTG Top Travel Agencies 2017 programme today.

^* The new TTG 30 Under 30 will be announced this month

^** It’s 63 years since the first edition of the Travel Trade Gazette was published

^*** TTG Media is now based at 160 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8EZ

We’re not the only one who likes our numbers. The CAA also tends to keep a close eye on them – specifically when operators are trying to renew their Atols.

This was the case on Friday, when the industry waited with bated breath to see if the financial numbers of a certain airline and operator would be healthy enough to secure its Atol. Thankfully, at the 11th hour Monarch announced it had secured “signficiant investment” and the CAA agreed to a 12-day extension to its licence. With the reprieve only temporary though, it seems Monarch – and the trade – could be in for a tense two weeks yet.