Comment: Final call for Agent Achievement Awards entries

Make sure you’re in the running to be honoured at the biggest celebration of the travel trade, says Lucy Huxley

Over the past week I have been fortunate to attend two events, hosted by Clia and the Association of Touring & Adventure Suppliers, which highlighted fantastic prospects for travel agents.

Research and data revealed by the two associations showed ongoing strength of demand for the cruise and touring sectors, but it also demonstrated how agents are increasingly embracing the product and can benefit even further by growing their specialisms and expertise.

We are seeing specialist operators in these sectors continuing to invest heavily in the travel trade, with a number of agent-facing appointments announced this week alone.

And with the adventure sector tipped by one expert to be close to joining cruise and touring as a mainstream holiday choice, there are ever more ways for agents to add strings to their bows and gain even more customers.

Unsurprisingly, Clia and Atas members and the associations themselves are huge supporters of Travel Weekly’s Agent Achievement Awards, and last week we unveiled a stellar line-up of industry judges who will help us select our winners.

The big night itself takes place in July, but this is also a crucial week as we have just days until the May 1 deadline for both supplier voting and agent and agency entries.

We are always immensely grateful to everyone who takes part, and I would urge you all to not miss the opportunity to ensure the very best are represented on the shortlists when they are published in June. Whether you are an agent or operator, you can find all the details at agentachievementawards.co.uk.