Gold Medal

We have been contributing to the Black Friday buzz this week with a selection of exceptional offers for agents to share with their customers. With holiday offers to Mexico, Dubai, Thailand, Maldives and New York, we are supporting agents with the best offers for their clients’ 2025 Gold Medal holidays.  Throughout the week, our specialist brands Cruise Plus and Incredible Journeys have also been sharing their top deals for agents to promote.  

Pure Luxury is a finalist at the TTG Media Luxury Travel Awards 2025! We are delighted to have made the shortlist in the category Luxury Operator of the Year, a category sponsored by Nassau & Paradise Island Promotion Board (NPIPB). It also fills us with pride to be sponsoring Luxury Travel Designer of the Year for the second consecutive year - a category filled with talented individuals all worthy of recognition. We look forward to celebrating all the individuals, agencies and businesses within the luxury travel industry at these prestigious awards in February.

Last week we were delighted to welcome Alexandra Emily Barbour from Blacklane to our HQ in Leyland. In October, our Pure Luxury brand revealed exciting updates to the luxury proposition, which included the introduction of Blacklane transfers. This complimentary UK airport chauffeur service elevates a wonderful holiday to an exceptional escape, starting from the moment our customers leave their home.  🗣️ Adrian James: “The inclusion of Blacklane transfers, in addition to complimentary lounge passes, guarantees comfort and relaxation for Pure Luxury customers, but also peace of mind for our agents that their clients are receiving an exceptional holiday from the very start. We are thrilled to be working with Blacklane to offer this elevated service.” Thank you to Alexandra and all the team at Blacklane for showcasing this product to our colleagues and for your continued support. 

Tales from the Team 🌍 - Michaela Gray, Partnerships Marketing Manager, was thrilled to attend Tourism Australia’s Australia Marketplace UK & Europe 2024. Throughout the event, Michaela took the opportunity to discuss business for 2025 and beyond with existing and new partners. Thank you to Pete Mills, Partnerships & Distribution Manager UK & Northern Europe, and all the team at Tourism Australia for showcasing a great marketplace and giving us the opportunity to develop new connections to the amazing destination of Australia.    - Sticking down under, our Ultimate FAM trip to Australia travelled this month, where 12 agents, seven Gold Medal hosts and India-Jayne Trainor from Travel Weekly UK discovered the iconic sites this destination has to offer. Travelling to New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia, Northern Territory and South Australia, the groups received a full Australian experience. To discover more from this trip, head to our Facebook and Instagram channels where we followed each group on their adventures.     - Hannah Eldridge, Trade Partnership Manager (Homeworkers) and Samantha Lynch, Trade Partnership Executive, attended a conference for Hays Homeworkers, Explorer and IG members in Turkey. The event included conference sessions, a fabulous white night and finale gala dinner. Both Hannah and Sam enjoyed catching up with new and existing homeworking agents. 

Tales from the Team 🌍 - Cruise Plus were proud to sponsor two awards at The Wave Awards this week. Stuart Simmons, Head of Trade Partnerships was in attendance and delighted to present both awards, with Travel Counsellors winning ‘Best Homeworking Network’ and ‘Best Ocean Cruise Line’, won by P&O Cruises. Stuart was accompanied by Catherine-Anne Boyle, Cruise Product and Commercial Manager and Ellie Ferry, Trade Partnership Executive – thank you to Cruise Trade News for a fantastic night and congratulations to all the winners. - Stuart also visited TTNG Head Office in Woking to meet some key members of the team to discuss the latest updates and future opportunities. Thank you to Fiona Pearcy - Senior Commercial Manager, Katarina - Group Commercial Director, Ross East - Marketing Director, Gary Gillespie - Managing Director of Independent Travel Experts / Product and Distribution Director, Stephanie Slark – Membership Direction, and their teams for hosting. - Kayleigh-Anne Elliott - Trade Partnership Manager (Scotland & N. Ireland) attended TIPTO in Hull and Doncaster, with speed dating style training sessions. Kayleigh-Anne was able to give key updates on all four of the dnata B2B brands, and showcase current campaigns and incentives.

Tales from the Team 🌍 - This week a few members of the Partnerships Marketing and Product team were at World Travel Market 2024 at the ExCel in London. The team were able to meet with key partners to discuss future partnership opportunities and ways of working together, to promote the best portfolio of products for our agents and their customers. Just a few of the partners that the team met included Tourism Authority of Thailand, JA Resorts & Hotels, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, Singapore Tourism Board, Miral Destinations, Visit Dubai and Taj Exotica. - Karen Fletcher, Trade Partnerships Director, and the team welcomed two of the most iconic names in travel - Claire Cruise and Emma Holliday, from Not Just Travel - to the Leyland Headquarters this week, to talk plans for 2025. - Stuart Simmons, Head of Trade Partnerships, alongside Ellie Ferry, Trade Partnership Executive, headed to the South East to visit TUI, Hays and Baldwins Travel, showcasing our latest incentives and campaigns. - Carmen Moreira, Trade Partnerships Manager, visited Polka Dot Travel in Newcastle Under Lyne to showcase our latest partner campaign with Miral Destinations and Yas Island, and to update on latest initiatives and incentives from across the business. Polka Dot will be opening a new store in Crewe later this month, so it was a great chance to touch base and update. - Matt Greenwood and David Steven, Trade Partnership Managers headed over to the Isle of Man to visit agent partners and update on the latest developments, campaigns and news from Gold Medal and the specialist brands. They hosted a dedicated training session in store with Perfect Getaways, followed by an evening at a local Pan Asian restaurant.

We celebrated all things Indian Ocean yesterday, at our latest Gold Medal Marketplace event. Supported by 13 of our incredible supplier partners, the marketplace provided agents with the opportunity to ask questions, hear the latest updates from the experts first-hand, and everyone who attended was entered into a generous prize draw. With over 30 agents signed up to attend, the event was a resounding success, and our agents left with elevated confidence and knowledge. A selection of our sales centre colleagues also joined the training, continuing to build on their expertise and taking the time to catch up with agents. Thank you to all our suppliers who attended and provided invaluable insight, and to all the attending agents. Centara Hotels & Resorts, One&Only Resorts, Sun Siyam Resorts, Kandima Maldives, SAii Lagoon Maldives, Curio Collection by Hilton, Hard Rock Hotel Maldives, Shangri-La Le Touessrok, Mauritius, Radisson Hotel Group, Attitude Hotels, Sunlife Mauritius, OBLU XPERIENCE Ailafushi, OBLU SELECT Lobigili 

Tales from the Team 🌍 - Rhiannon S., Trade Partnerships Executive attended the Advantage Latitude Cruise Conference on board Ambassador Ambience. Sailing from London Tilbury to Amsterdam, the hospitality and welcome from the crew on board Ambassador was exceptional. The conference was informative and gave great insight into the cruising industry and the current trends. - Darrin des Vignes, Country Director (UK) for Yas Island hosted a fantastic webinar to over 70 agents on Wednesday, bringing them all the latest information and updates on this exciting destination. Hosted alongside our Trade Partnership Manager, Louisa Jackson, together they presented to agents and answered questions about Yas Island and Saadiyat Island. Plus, all attendees of the webinar were in with a chance of winning a £200 Red Letter Days voucher, just for attending live. Thank you to Darrin and to all the agents that joined the webinar to expand their knowledge and confidence in this ever-growing, popular destination. -  We were delighted to welcome representatives from across the Hilton Hotels & Resorts portfolio of brands to Lancaster House, our HQ in Leyland this week. Over 20 partners representing Hilton resorts and hotels from around the globe were in attendance. Our colleagues from across the business were given the opportunity to further their knowledge and confidence with face-to-face training sessions with the experts themselves.  Thank you to all our Hilton attendees for visiting us today, we look forward to welcoming you back again very soon. Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, Conrad Tulum Riviera Maya, Domes Aulūs Elounda, Curio Collection by Hilton, Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island Hilton Barbados Resort, Hilton Cancun, an All-Inclusive Resort Resort   Hilton Cancun Mar Caribe All-Inclusive Resort, Hilton Colombo Hilton Dubai Palm Jumeirah, Hilton Dubai Jumeirah and Hilton Dubai The Walk, Hilton Tulum Riviera Maya All Inclusive Resort, Tempo by Hilton Times Square, Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah, Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah, Waldorf Astoria Seychelles Platte Island, LXR Hotels & Resorts, Canopy by Hilton Seychelles, Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort & Spa, Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort & Spa, DoubleTree by Hilton Seychelles - Allamanda Resort & Spa

Last night Gold Medal were the proud winners of 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗮𝘂𝗹 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 at the SPAA Awards - for the second consecutive year🏆 The sparkling SPAA awards, hosted at DoubleTree by Hilton hotel, welcomed over 600 attendees with so many deserving winners and finalists amongst them. Stuart Simmons, Head of Trade Partnerships and Kayleigh-Anne Elliott, Trade Partnerships Manager (Scotland and Northern Ireland) took to the stage to collect Gold Medal’s trophy for Long Haul Operator of the Year. This category was voted for by agents which means so much to everyone here at Gold Medal - thank you to all agents who took the time to vote for us. Everything we do is to support and inspire our agents.

Pure Luxury have proudly launched their second brochure of 2024, Tailormade Escapes. This publication showcases our breadth of product and expertise in crafting bespoke itineraries which encompass all elements of luxury travel – flights, accommodation, tours, excursions and transport – into one easy to manage booking. With a 100-page brochure featuring 35 bespoke itineraries, and an in-depth supporting campaign, agents can inspire their customers with luxury experiences across worldwide destinations including Arabia & the Indian Ocean, the USA & Canada, the Far East, Oceania, Africa and Europe. We’ve seen a significant increase in requests for custom-made, multi-centre luxury holidays, built together with our amazing collection of worldwide properties and experiences. We pride ourselves in being the experts in travel, and the passion for our products and our destination knowledge is woven into everything we do. Agents will uncover our expertise and insight in every inclusion, taking into consideration the most up-to-date trends, finding the most in-demand destinations and sought-after experiences, together with hand-selected stays sure to impress.