More: Globe Travel Awards 2023: Live winners and reaction
Globe Travel Awards 2023: Winners revealed
Globe Travel Awards 2023: Gallery from the night
Clia UK & Ireland managing director Andy Harmer has been presented with the 2023 Travel Weekly Globe Travel Award for Outstanding Achievement.
Harmer received the award in recognition of his continued championing of the cruise industry and travel trade, and the key role he played in the resumption of the sector following its shutdown during the Covid pandemic.
He was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s final birthday honours list last year for services to the maritime sector.
Harmer said: “This means the absolute world to me. The people in the cruise industry are passionate, resilient and dedicated. The people I work with have shown that they work together when the times are good and when the times are tough.
“I think we as a sector have demonstrated that we do the right thing at the right time. We were the first to suspend operations for example. We were able to demonstrate to customers, and potential customers, that we were able to take the necessary action at the right time.”
New awards
Other special awards presented on the night included the Unsung Hero Award and two new awards, the Sustainable Future Award and the Employer of the Year Award.
The Unsung Hero Award was won by Inspire Group’s Samantha Fisher in recognition of her tireless charity work and efforts to develop more inclusive opportunities for travellers.
Meanwhile, the Sustainable Future Award went to easyJet holidays, while Ocean Holidays was named Employer of the Year.
Fisher said: “I’m speechless. It’s so humbling to be recognised by the travel industry which is the industry I absolutely adore. Charity is so important to me and it’s wonderful to be recognised.
“The rest of the Inspire Group are going to be so happy for me and so incredibly proud.”
After winning the inaugural Sustainable Future Award, Matt Callaghan, director of customer and operations at easyJet holidays, said: “We’ve been really obsessed about making sure that everything we do has real world impact.”
He added: “We are so proud because we’re just over a year into our journey to become more sustainable, having launched our sustainability strategy in 2021. But this is a real impetus for us and real encouragement for all of the team who are so passionate about it to really just keep going.”
And Ocean Holidays managing director George Hastings said: “It’s such a surprise to have won and this the first Globe Award we’ve received so it’s really exciting.
“We have done a lot of work in the last two years finding out what our staff want and need and then worked to implement all of that so to have that recognised is amazing.
“This award will be front and centre at our town hall next week and the staff are going to be buzzing – at the end of the day, this award is all about them.
More: Globe Travel Awards 2023: Live winners and reaction
Globe Travel Awards 2023: Winners revealed
Globe Travel Awards 2023: Gallery from the night
