06 December 2024 | 11:30am - 4:30pm | 8 Northumberland Avenue, London

06 December 2004 | 11:30am - 4:30pm | 8 Northumberland Avenue, London

06 December 2024
11:30am - 4:30pm
8 Northumberland Avenue, London

Welcome to The Advantage Travel Partnership's Big Celebration Lunch!

Join us in celebrating the successes and achievements of our members and partners in the travel industry.

Recognising and celebrating your successes

Our Big Celebration Lunch gives us the opportunity to acknowledge and appreciate the great and the good of travel, be they trailblazers, mentors, unsung heroes or those who deliver over and above to their customers, through the perfect balance of fun, celebration and recognition. 

Our 2023 Big Celebration Lunch winners

As we gear up for our forthcoming Big Celebration Lunch at 8 Northumberland Avenue on 06 December, the anticipation is building for what promises to be our most spectacular event yet – a true celebration of success.

The event holds a special place in our hearts, as it brings together friends and colleagues from across our business sector. It's a unique opportunity to connect with stakeholders who contribute to what Advantage stands for driving business growth for our members. This occasion is one of my favourite events of the year, as it revolves around celebrating the successes of our members and business partners while recognising outstanding achievements.

This year, we are excited to reveal a spectacular new venue and what promises to be a showstopper event and the perfect end-of-year celebration bringing the whole travel community together.

On behalf of my team, I extend our heartfelt thanks for your unwavering support and commitment to Advantage. Your contributions have played a pivotal role in our success.

I eagerly look forward to seeing you at the lunch, where we can come together to celebrate, connect, and continue building on the achievements of this remarkable year.

Julia Lo Bue-Said

CEO

Our 2024 Award Categories

We take pride in celebrating the achievements and innovation of our members and supplier partners which is why this year we have 22 awards showcasing the best of the best! From exceptional employees to sustainability champions, these accolades highlight the passion and dedication of our community. Join us as we delve into these categories, showcasing the inspiring stories behind the awards that encourage our members to continue exploring and shaping the future of travel.

VOTING HAS NOW CLOSED! ALL WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON STAGE ON 06 DECEMBER 2024.

Our Host

This year's host will be Mark Durden-Smith. Mark previously hosted the event and was a firm favourite so we are thrilled to welcome him back! He is a sport and lifestyle presenter whose versatility has seen him front everything from sports coverage to reality contests, cookery programmes to morning magazine shows.

 
Well-known to sports fans, Mark has led ITV’s Premiership and World Cup rugby coverage, as well as anchoring their Boat Race broadcast. He followed Premiership coverage as it moved to Channel 5, whilst for Sky he’s presented European golf, international cricket, Spanish football, and the daily round-up Sky Sports Centre, as well as rugby. He also hosted Sky’s reality show The Match, which pitted celebrities against professionals in a football match. Away from the sporting arena, Mark has guest hosted This Morning and fronted Package Holidays Undercover and Wish You Were Here – Now and Then, as well as the reality show spin-offs I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here Now!, and Hell’s Kitchen Extra Portions. He’s also hosted game and panel shows for ITV and Sky 1.

Our Judges

We have agreed to invite the following individuals to judge for us once again this year:

Joanna Kolatsis

Joanna is the founding Director of Themis Advisory, a business affairs and strategic advisory consultancy, following over 20 years providing legal services to the travel and aviation industries.

 

Since qualification Joanna has specialised in the aviation and travel industries and her advice covers a number of aspects including airlines, tour operators, destination management companies, distribution and accommodation. Her expertise includes aviation and travel law, company/commercial issues and regulatory matters including the Package Travel Regulations, ATOL compliance and aviation regulation. Joanna also has specific expertise in risk management, crisis management and criminalisation in air and travel incidents.

 

Joanna was appointed as UK Legal Counsel to Advantage in August 2018.

Michelle Van Sprang

Michelle is Director of A S Training which is a travel specialist apprenticeship Training Provider.

 

Michelle started her career off as a modern apprentice for Thomas Cook, wanting to offer others the same opportunity she had, Michelle and her team work actively within the travel sector to create career paths for new to travel and establish pathways for up-skilling for existing staff.

 

In May 2023 Advantage entered into a new partnership with A S Training to provide members with access to a range of apprenticeship courses striving to invest in bringing new talent into the UK travel industry with a bold and ambitious target of introducing 50 new apprenticeships across the Partnership over 12 months.

Simon Atkinson

With 20 years of banking experience, Simon is a Director and Head of Travel within the Large Corporate Hospitality & Leisure Team at Barclays.

 

He oversees a portfolio of key clients whilst also steering the sector strategy nationally by working closely with industry regulators and experts to ensure that the bank and its Relationship Directors have the tools and industry knowledge to best support their clients across all areas of their financing and banking needs

Steven Esom

Steven is an experienced board member and chairs membership and private company boards. His current directorships include The Advantage Travel Partnership, Sedex Information Exchange Ltd, Wynnstay plc and British Wrestling Association, responsible for developing community participation and Olympic athletes.  

His retail career board experience included being Executive Director at Marks & Spencer, Executive Director John Lewis Partnership plc as Waitrose Managing Director. Before joining the Partnership, Steven spent most of his career at Sainsbury’s in commercial roles.

Children’s Hospital Pyjamas

We're proud to announce that our Big Celebration Lunch is dedicated to supporting the remarkable charity, Children's Hospital Pyjamas.

At this year's event, we are asking our guests to join us in making a real difference by bringing comfort to children who need it most.

Children's Hospital Pyjamas is a UK-based charity that collects and donates new pyjamas to children in hospitals, hospices, and women's refuges. Their mission is to provide comfort to children during difficult times by ensuring they have cozy sleepwear. They work with volunteers and donors to gather pyjamas year-round, with a particular focus on the Christmas season, helping to bring a little warmth and care to those in need.

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