Time to shine a light on travel’s top sellers

The golden glow of another spectacular Travel Weekly Globe Travel Awards is still fresh in the memory, so it feels a perfect time to turn our attention from the best suppliers in the business to the cream of the travel agency community.

The launch of the Agent Achievement Awards is always a high point, as we ask suppliers to support their trade partners and agents to nominate themselves to showcase their work over the past 12 months.

This year is no exception, and I am particularly excited about a new award for the UK’s best individual agency branch, which gives us an opportunity to shine an even greater light on the frontline travel sellers truly excelling in their communities.

The start of the year has been notable for a string of announcements hailing record sales, but conversations at our Industry Leaders’ Dinner last week highlighted a more nuanced picture.

Like the proverbial swan gliding gracefully through the water, the positive outlook belies a hell of a lot of action beneath the surface – in the words of one guest, it is “a real grind” for some.

That activity might be huge investment in marketing, or keen pricing and offers that require careful monitoring of volume versus margin, but it’s certainly not plain sailing for many.

We are clearly in for another bouncy ride in 2026, with the ongoing trend for closer-to-departure bookings adding to the uncertainty in the family sector in particular. With that in mind, the trade partnerships that both the Globes and AAAs are designed to champion will be as crucial as ever.

Find out more on the Agent Achievement Awards website