The shortlists for this year’s Aspire Awards have been unveiled, highlighting the cream of the crop in luxury travel. 

The annual awards recognise and reward the achievements of the best brands, most trade‑friendly teams and the most passionate and innovative agents in the sector.

Aspire will honour the hard work of those shortlisted at our annual awards ceremony, which is being held at the Pan Pacific London on December 12. 

The event is run in partnership with headline sponsor Celebrity Cruises and destination headline sponsor the Greek National Tourism Organisation. Other sponsors include Above by CV Villas, Antigua & Barbuda, Atlantis The Royal, Classic Collection, Explora Journeys, Mail Metro Media, Oceania Cruises, Seabourn, Silversea Cruises, Switzerland Tourism and Virgin Voyages.

This year, Aspire added an extra element to the entry process. As well as submitting a written entry, agents and suppliers were required to take part in a recorded interview with editor Hollie-Rae Brader or senior content writer Erica Bush. The judging panels were able to view both the written submissions and the interviews before scoring each entry. 

Brader said: “I’m thrilled to announce the finalists for this year’s Aspire Awards. Each year, we take great pride in ensuring the entry process is as watertight as possible without any chance of bias. Adding the recorded interview element allowed each entrant to vocalise their passion for the luxury travel sector. In total we spent more than 60 hours interviewing every brand, agent and team.

“There are numerous judging panels, some in person and some virtually. Judges score each entrant independently and anonymously. The scores are only compiled after the judging is complete, with everyone discovering the winners on the night, including the judges. We look forward to celebrating the successes of the sector in December.”

Only a small number of tickets are left for the awards. To buy yours, visit aspireawards.co.uk.

AGENT CATEGORIES

Concierge Agency of the Year

◗ Panache Cruises

◗ Quintessentially Travel

◗ Revells Travel

◗ Ten Lifestyle Group

Independent Agency of the Year – Homeworking (Small)

◗ Cartology Travel

◗ Swords Travel

◗ Tarporley Travel

◗ The Travel Concept

◗ Wonderluxe Travel

Independent Agency of the year – Homeworking (Large)

◗ Designer Travel

◗ Holidaysplease

◗ Not Just Travel

Independent Agency of the Year – High Street

◗ Delmar World

◗ Off Broadway Travel

◗ Select World Travel

◗ Swords Travel

◗ The Travel Journal

Luxury Seller of the Year

◗ Amelia Atkinson, Tailoring Travel

◗ Amy Welfare, AW Private Travel

◗ Charlotte Craig, Paper Plane Travel

◗ Dan Salmon, Never A Wasted Journey

◗ Eda Ayyildiz, Travel Counsellors

◗ Emma Frearson, The Personal Travel Agents, The Midcounties Co-operative

◗ Jennifer Lonergan, The Luxury Traveller

◗ Julie Harrison, Bespoke Luxury Travel

Rising Star of the Year

◗ Hannah Porter, Travel By Hannah

◗ Jodie Robertson, Designer Travel

◗ Michael Davies, Heritage Collection Travel

◗ Olivia Vandermolen, Travel By Olivia

◗ Panache Cruises

◗ Vanessa Boz, BozAround Private Travel

◗ Victoria Bruce-Miller, Fred & Mildred Private Travel

Sustainability Champion of the Year

◗ AW Private Travel 

◗ Not Just Travel

◗ Travel Matters Ltd

Innovation of the Year

◗ Designer Travel

◗ Heritage Collection Travel

◗ Travel By Hannah

Outstanding Contribution to Luxury – Agent 

Aspire Supporter of the Year

Winners to be announced at the ceremony

SUPPLIER CATEGORIES

Luxury Ocean Cruise Line of the Year

◗ Celebrity Cruises

◗ Oceania Cruises

◗ Ponant

◗ Regent Seven Seas Cruises

◗ Seabourn

◗ SeaDream Yacht Club

◗ Silversea Cruises

Luxury River Cruise Line of the Year

◗ AmaWaterways

◗ Scenic/Emerald Cruises

◗ Uniworld

Luxury Expedition Brand of the Year

◗ Silversea Cruises

◗ Ponant

◗ Quark Expeditions

Luxury Adventure Brand of the Year

◗ White Desert 

◗ &Beyond

◗ Quark Expeditions

Specialist Luxury Tour Operator of the Year

◗ CV Villas

◗ Inside Travel Group (InsideJapan & InsideAsia)

◗ Kirker Holidays

◗ Knighton Reeve

◗ The Luminaire

Luxury Air Service of the Year

◗ ANA

◗ Air Charter Service

◗ VistaJet

Sustainable Practice of the Year

◗ Audley Travel

◗ EcoVentura

◗ Fairmont Maldives Sirru Fen Fushi

◗ Phaea Resorts

◗ Ponant

◗ Sani Resort

◗ Silversea Cruises

◗ The Conscious Travel Foundation

Luxury Hotel Brand of the Year

◗ Atlantis Dubai

◗ Como Hotels and Resorts

◗ Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

◗ Sani/Ikos Group

◗ Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts

◗ Oetker Collection

◗ One&Only Resorts

◗ Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas

◗ Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts

◗ Virgin Limited Edition

Luxury Tourist Board of the Year

◗ Antigua and Barbuda Tourism

◗ ENIT – The Italian Government Tourist Board

◗ Greek National Tourism Organisation

◗ Visit Finland

Sales Representation Company of the Year

◗ Highlife Marketing

◗ Holberry Associates/UK partner of Reiimagine

◗ Sarah Falconer

Luxury Tour Operator of the Year

◗ Abercrombie & Kent

◗ Audley Travel

◗ Carrier

◗ Elegant Resorts

◗ Exsus Travel

◗ Inspiring Travel Company

◗ Lusso

Premium Tour Operator of the year

◗ Classic Collection

◗ If Only

◗ Indulgent Escapes by Jet2holidays

◗ Kuoni

◗ Pure Luxury

Unsung Hero of the Year

◗ Neil Sutton, Exsus Travel

◗ Tara Johnson, Elegant Resorts

◗ Andrew Tait, InsideAsia Tours

◗ Yvonne Spencer, North America Travel Service

◗ Lois Charters, Celebrity Cruises

◗ Ian Godfrey, Knighton Reeve

Outstanding Contribution to Luxury – Supplier 

Winner to be announced at the ceremony