We’re in the national finals, along with some besties

Stephen Scourfield has been voted into the finals of the National Travel Industry Awards. He is one of five finalists in the Most Outstanding Consumer Travel Journalist category.

The NTIA 2024 is the travel industry’s biggest awards, with the winners to be announced at a huge event on Saturday, October 26, at the International Conference Centre in Sydney.

The awards come under the Australian Travel Industry Association, and CEO Dean Long says: “It’s inspiring to see the passion and commitment within our industry, and the high calibre of finalists reflects the exceptional talent and dedication of our travel professionals. We are excited to celebrate these finalists at NTIA 2024 and acknowledge their contributions to our vibrant industry.”

A lot of Travel’s close friends and partners are also finalists.

We are partnering with Albatross Tours for a bespoke tour in Italy early next year. Albatross is a finalist in the Most Outstanding Tour Operator Specialised category.

Shelley Poten, managing director of Albatross Tours, says: “We are absolutely thrilled to be a finalist again and it would be wonderful to take the title home for a second year.”

Albatross Tours is also presenting partner for our Round Europe Dinner on November 14.

“It sounds incredible and we’re very excited to be part of it,” Shelley says.

Next month, Stephen leads a group of readers to Antarctica with Collette, sailing with Lindblad Expeditions National Geographic, which also is a finalist.

We are pleased to see our good friends at Bicton Travel in the finals (Most Outstanding Leisure Travel Agency Multi Location) along with Floreat World of Travel (Most Outstanding Leisure Travel Agency Single Location).

Viking cruises, with which we have partnered for both tours and events, is a finalist for both ocean and river cruising.

Among the other finalists in various categories are names our readers will be familiar with from these pages. They include Luxury Escapes, Flight Centre, Helloworld, Travel Associates, Intrepid Travel, BKB Holidays, Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, APT, Avalon Waterways and Scenic Luxury Cruises and Tours.