AWTE Annual Award Winners 2023 Announced
The Association of Women Travel Executives (AWTE) Annual Award Winners were announced at the annual lunch and awards held at 8 Northumberland in London yesterday. The afternoon was a celebration of success with male and female winners spanning the travel industry, the event acknowledged the impact winners have had on business and the industry.
The winners are…
The Honorary Award, honouring a female who has gone above and beyond in the past year, sponsored by Gail Kenny, was handed to Zina Bencheikh, Managing Director EMEA Intrepid Travel in recognition for the work Zina is doing to make the travel industry, and the world, a more inclusive and equal place.
The Ambassador Award, recognises a travel industry male professional who actively encourages, enables, and supports women in business, sponsored by Ambassador Cruise Line, was handed to Stuart Milan, Channel Director, Riviera Travel, for the support and mentoring Stuart is providing across the workplace at Riviera and the wider industry.
The Mentor of the Year Award recognises a female who positively affects others via demonstrated mentorship qualities. sponsored by Elman Wall, was handed to Britt Monks, Founder, The Honeymoon and Holiday Fixer. Britt has been a real inspiration and her ‘can do’ attitude inspires, and her daily support and mentoring has enabled her team to succeed beyond expectations.
The Social Impact Award, for an individual or brand that has shown innovation in ways that have positively impacted the travel community or has developed their strategy in a sustainable and impactful way, sponsored by FINN Partners, was jointly handed to Vicky Billing and Anna Perrott, for their amazing work with Back in Time for Bed striving to raise awareness about the challenges parents face trying to balance the demands of parenting and work life.
The Inclusion Award, for a travel brand that has shown outstanding commitment to equality across the whole business, allowing women to reach their full potential, sponsored by Intrepid, was handed to Eesha Singh, No Footprints for the amazing work which is being carried out breaking down barriers in India with the first LGBT+ tour.
The Rising star of the Year Award, for an individual who is 30 or under, relatively fresh to the industry and has made a significant impact, in partnership with ITT Future You, was handed to Ella Dunham, Marketing Manager, Exsus Travel for the positive impact she is having in travel, and she has been described as ‘an industry guiding light’ for the future.
The AWTE also launched its partnership with SmartWorks for 2024, a charity which empowers women to succeed, so it is aligned to our mission. They support unemployed women with clothing and coaching to help them succeed with job interviews and help to transform their lives. Last year, SmartWorks delivered 7,600 appointments to women in need across the UK. 72% of women they helped before an interview went on to succeed and get the job. SmartWorks run fashion shows, and challenge events to raise funds which we will promote to our membership to get involved.
Chair, Lindsay Garvey Jones said, “It was a phenomenal afternoon, giving us an opportunity to reflect, celebrate and recognise achievements across the industry. All our winners should be extremely proud of themselves. The awards were part of our Christmas lunch, which once again was a huge success in a stunning venue. We owe massive thanks to our sponsors for their continued support throughout 2023. It was so fabulous to see so many people coming together again and a great opportunity for us to meet so many of our new members. The AWTE is going from strength to strength and I’m really looking forward to continuing to support members with a range of events focussing on personal development & wellbeing in 2024!”