The trade’s leading luxury magazine, Aspire , is once again set to celebrate the achievements of the high-end travel sector with an exciting awards ceremony honouring the dedication and determination shown by outstanding individuals and companies.

Celebrating the very best brands, the most passionate trade teams and most innovative agents in the industry, the Aspire Awards will be an unmissable evening that will give the shining lights of the industry a chance to celebrate their achievements.

For the first time since the event’s inception, the awards ceremony will be held out of London. This year’s event, held in partnership with headline sponsor Celebrity Cruises, will take place at Kimpton Clocktower Hotel in Manchester on October 18.

This year’s entry process will combine both a written submission and a short recorded piece to camera, both of which will be shown to judges. The two-minute video should simply sum up why each entrant believes they should win the respective category they’re entering.

As is the case every year, there will be multiple judging panels, some of which take place virtually and some in person, this is to ensure there is no bias in the process. Judges will submit their chosen winners individually, and the Aspire team will combine the results to establish the winners. As always, judges of each category will not know who has won until the winners are announced.

Celebrity Cruises returns as headline sponsor of the Aspire Awards – a role the cruise line has held since the event’s inception. The destination partner for the evening is Cayman Islands, who will put a spotlight on the Caribbean paradise. Other sponsors include Kerzner International, Silversea Cruises, Explora Journeys, the Greek National Tourism Organisation and Above by CV Villas.

Aspire editor Hollie-Rae Brader said: “I’m delighted to announce that this year’s Aspire Awards will be held in Manchester. Aspire has a large agent audience in the north of the country and many of those agents have ventured down to London year after year to show their support.

“It’s important to me and the wider Aspire team that we also show our thanks and support to them, and the countless luxury tour operators and brands based up north, by hosting the event in the wonderful city of Manchester.

“The awards will be bigger and better than before and we have some exciting plans in the pipeline. As always, it’s an honour for us to showcase the talents of the luxury travel industry and we’re organising a night to remember.