Aspire Awards

Supplier Awards

Entries to this year’s Aspire Awards are now open.

In order to keep the judging process transparent, easy and watertight, the entry process will once again incorporate both a written submission and a two-minute video where entrants will be asked to sum up why they believe they should win the respective category they’re entering.

Both elements will be shown to judging panels. As is the case every year, there will be multiple judging panels, some of which will take place virtually and some in person, 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.

Closing date: Wednesday, May 21 at 5pm

For any assistance with creating an entry, please visit our FAQs page or contact Rowan.Fisher@jacobsmediagroup.com

Expedition Cruise Line of the Year

Open to any expedition cruise line offering a luxury product and onboard experience across its accommodation, cuisine and other inclusions. The brand should be able to demonstrate a clear expedition and adventure offering.

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Luxury Cruise Line of the Year

Open to any cruise brand offering a premium or luxury product and onboard experience across its accommodation, cuisine and other verticals. Cruise lines in this category should be able to demonstrate why they appeal to affluent clients.

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Luxury River Cruise Line of the Year

Open to any river cruise brand offering a luxury product and onboard experience across its accommodation, cuisine and other inclusions.

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Ultra-Luxury Ocean Cruise Line of the Year

Open to any ocean cruise brand offering an ultra-luxury product and onboard experience across its accommodation, cuisine and other inclusions. Cruise lines entering this category should either have all-suite ships, or the vast majority of accomodation onboard should be suites.

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Luxury Transport Service of the Year

Open to brands that offer a luxury transport service to clients. This includes commercial air services, private jet companies, rail operators, car hire services and transfer companies. Entries should highlight how your product and service caters to the affluent traveller. Entries should also reflect how the company supports the UK trade.

Luxury Adventure Brand of the Year

Open to brands that serve the high-end luxury adventure travel sector. The brand should offer unique propositions allowing customers to go off the beaten track and explore non-mainstream destinations. Entries should reflect how a brand assists in immersing clients in the unique destinations and cultures they are visiting, and its approach to adventure travel while ensuring comfort and quality. Entries should also reflect how the company supports the UK trade. This category is open to all forms of supplier including expedition cruise brands, tailor-made tour operators, escorted tour operators, private jet brands, safari operators, hotel brands or individual properties.

Luxury Hotel Group of the Year: Large

Open to luxury hotel brands that operate 16 or more properties under their banner. Brands must be able to show a demonstrable commitment to the luxury traveller and the agent community. Companies must be able to show a strong record of engagement with the UK travel trade and plans for how they intend to evolve and develop those relationships.

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Luxury Hotel Group of the Year: Small

Open to luxury hotel brands that operate 15 or fewer properties under their banner. Brands must be able to show a demonstrable commitment to the luxury traveller and the agent community. Companies must be able to show a strong record of engagement with the UK travel trade and plans for how they intend to evolve and develop those relationships.

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Luxury Hotel of the Year: Independent

This category is open to independent, single-hotel brands. Properties must be family or independently owned but can be part of associations and organisations such as The Leading Hotels of the World, Relais & Châteaux, Preferred Hotels & Resorts or Small Luxury Hotels of the World. Brands must be able to show a demonstrable commitment to the luxury traveller and the agent community. Companies must be able to show a strong record of engagement with the UK travel trade and plans for how they intend to evolve and develop those relationships.

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Inclusivity Initiative of the year

Brands entering this category must be able to clearly demonstrate their DEAI (diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion) credentials and explain why their product/experience/service deserves recognition. Examples should show how and why your initiative caters to a specific diversity dimension, such as accessibility, LGBTQIA+ or Indigenous tourism, and highlight how your brand is working to improve the travel experience for all.

Trade Initiative of the Year

Open to any luxury brand or destination that has introduced a trade-centric initiative to support the trade. This could be a unique fam trip opportunity, a new approach to training agents or simply a change in the way your company operates which will better support agents to convert bookings. This category is open to all brands and tourist boards, including expedition cruise brands, tailor-made tour operators, escorted tour operators, private jet brands, safari operators, hotel brands or individual properties.

Sustainability Initiative of the Year

Brands entering this category must be able to demonstrate clear evidence of a new sustainable innovation or a measurable improvement in sustainable practices in the 12 months prior to March 2025. Entries should highlight how your brand is working to improve the planet, and explain why the initiative deserves recognition.

Luxury Team of the Year

Open to any luxury supplier business who ensures agents are at the heart of their strategy in every decision made. Entries should highlight a desire and passion to support agents in growing their sales. It should demonstrate how you support agents and it should ideally reflect how your entire business collaborates to ensure a seamless service for an agent.

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Luxury Salesperson of the Year

Open to a salesperson from any vertical in luxury travel (tour operators, cruise lines, airlines, hotels etc). The person should be able to demonstrate a clear passion for their product and the luxury travel trade. Entries should highlight a desire and passion to support agents in growing their sales. This is the category for the shining star of a sales team. You can put yourself forward or a senior manager can nominate someone within their business.

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Luxury Tourist Board of the Year

Open to tourist boards who have a clear focus on serving the high-end sector. Entries should showcase a destination’s trade and consumer strategy to target affluent clients, the product in the destination that serves these clients and how successful the combination of both the implementation of the strategy and the product has been in delivering increased spend, longer stays in the destination and higher visitor numbers.

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Luxury Tour Operator of the Year

Open to any luxury tour operator working with less than 100 key account agent partners. All product from operators entering this category must be five-star or high value and the brand must offer after-sales support and a concierge service agents can utilise. Entries should reflect how the company supports the UK trade.

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Premium Tour Operator of the Year

Open to any premium tour operator working with more than 100 key account agent partners. A majority of product from operators entering this category must be four or five-star. Entries should also reflect how the company supports the UK trade.

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Specialist Luxury Tour Operator of the Year

Open to any luxury operator that considers itself as operating within a niche or specialism. The entrant could specialise in selling a particular product type or be destination specific. Product from the operator entering this category must be five-star or high value. Entries should also reflect how the company supports the UK trade.

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Sales Representation Company of the Year: Large

Open to sales representation businesses that have 15 luxury clients or more. Your business should be dedicated to serving the luxury travel sector and educating agents on high-end product. Entries should detail the breadth of your portfolio, the number of agents/agencies you work with, and your trade strategy for future growth for the clients you represent. You should also detail how your support is benefiting an agent’s business.

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Sales Representation Company of the Year: Small

Open to sales representation businesses that have 14 luxury clients or fewer. Your business should be dedicated to serving the luxury travel sector and educating agents on high-end product. Entries should detail the breadth of your portfolio, the number of agents/agencies you work with, and your trade strategy for future growth for the clients you represent. You should also detail how your support is benefiting an agent’s business.

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