Tui UK took home the In-House Team of the Year gong, while Abta was named Travel Brand of the Year – Established at Monday’s ceremony (3 July), with Black Tomato earning Travel Brand of the Year – Challenger.
Finn Partners, meanwhile, won the coveted PR Agency of the Year award. Finn was also recognised for its work with MDSG on Destination DC’s mural in London’s Shoreditch, which won the Out of Home category, and for the Jonathan Turns 190 campaign for St Helena Tourism, which took top spot in the PR Campaign – up to £50,000 Spend category.
Adventure touring specialists G Adventures and Intrepid Travel both triumphed at the ceremony at the Hilton London Bankside, hosted by comedian Ed Byrne – G for its When was the last time you felt like this? campaign with Accord Marketing (Advertising Campaign – up to £250,000 Media Spend) and Intrepid for topping the Marketing Responsible and Sustainable Tourism category.
The Travel Marketing Awards’ first-ever Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Campaign award, sponsored by TTG Media, was awarded to Kent Downs AONB for its Up the Kent Downs (Muslim Hikers Coastal Trek) campaign, created in partnership with Vivid. The runner-up was the Malta Tourism Authority for its LGBT campaign with OutThere magazine.
The Kent Downs campaign attracted more than 150 Muslim hikers and reached 26,000 people on social media. The judges said it engaged the Muslim community to successfully promote inclusive and sustainable access to the countryside, and also helped reach out to local asylum seekers.
Richard Carrick, president of the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s (CIM) travel group, which organised the awards, said travel’s return to "something like normal levels of trading" had been underpinned by "some very impressive marketing campaigns and initiatives". "Exciting opportunities live ahead," he said.
Carrick also used his address to reflect on some of the changes to which press, PR and marketing teams, agencies and firms working in the travel space were having to adapt, such as striking a balance between "greenwashing" and "greenhushing" owing to the "heightened focus" on sustainability messaging and its growing significance.
Other topics addressed by Carrick included the rapid advent and adoption of AI and its implications for marketing; the cost of living crisis; and the ongoing war in Ukraine, which he said was preventing some participation in travel marketing.
