Guys, don’t panic, but the Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) has announced 2018s National Travel Industry Awards (NTIA) finalists!

Finalists were determined by one of two processes – a submission which was assessed by an independent panel of university markers or as voted by industry.

Today, AFTA announced the highest-ranked nominees, across all 38 award categories, who will proceed through to Finalist status.

For the judged categories, presentations to the NTIA judging panel will take place at Qantas Headquarters in Mascot, Sydney between Tuesday 29 May – Wednesday 6 June 2018.

If you want to be better prepared, and we know you do, you can register here for the NTIA Judging Webinar which will take place on Wednesday 16 May at 12 noon.

And if you want to attend the Gala Dinner, you can request a ticket on the AFTA website tomorrow (Friday 4 May).

So, without further ado, allow us to present the finalists for the 2018 NTIA awards!

CATEGORY 1 – BEST TRAVEL AGENCY GROUP / 50 STORES OR MORE

• Flight Centre
• Helloworld Travel
•  Travellers Choice

CATEGORY 2  – BEST NON BRANDED TRAVEL AGENCY GROUP

• ATAC
•  Independent Travel Group
• Helloworld Business Travel
• Magellan Travel
• My Travel Group

CATEGORY 3 – BEST TRAVEL AGENCY RETAIL / SINGLE LOCATION

• Bayview Trave
• Bicton Travel
• Helloworld Travel Lane Cove
• Main Beach Travel
• Out and About Travel

CATEGORY 4 – BEST TRAVEL AGENCY RETAIL / MULTI LOCATION

• Hastwell Travel and Cruise
• Helloworld Travel Hunter Travel Group/RACT Travel
• Helloworld Travel Mackay & MT Pleasant
• Phil Hoffmann Travel
• Travel Club

CATEGORY 5 – BEST TRAVEL AGENCY CORPORATE / SINGLE LOCATION

• Complete Business Travel
• DBT Corporate Travel
• Helloworld Travel Newcastle Corporate
• Sanford International Travel
• The Journeymasters

CATEGORY 6 – BEST TRAVEL AGENCY CORPORATE / MULTI LOCATION

• Corporate Traveller
• Goldman Travel Corporation
• Platinum Travel Corporation
• Stage and Screen Travel Services
• The Travel Authority

CATEGORY 7 – BEST NATIONAL TRAVEL MANAGEMENT COMPANY

• Corporate Travel Management
• FCM Travel Solutions
• QBT

CATEGORY 8 – BEST TRAVEL BROKER NETWORK

• MTA – Mobile Travel Agents
•  Savenio Travel
• Travel Counsellors
• Travel Partners

CATEGORY 9 – BEST ONLINE TRAVEL AGENCY / OTA

• Cruise Sale Finder www.cruisesalefinder.com.au
• flybuys Travel www.flybuystravel.com.au
• Global Journeys www.globaljourneys.com
• Luxury Escapes www.luxuryescapes.com
• TripADeal www.tripadeal.com.au

CATEGORY 10 – BEST BUSINESS EVENTS TRAVEL AGENCY

• All Occasions Travel
• American Express Global Business Travel
• Event Travel Management
• Platinum Event Solutions
• The Events Authority

CATEGORY 11 – BEST TRAVEL CONSULTANT / RETAIL

• Giselle Pennington Spencer Travel Southside NSW
• Klara Illuzzi Flight Centre Bondi Junction NSW
• Louise Kinkead Flight Centre Kotara NSW
• Matt Schmitz Travel Counsellors VIC
• Teagan Underwood STA Travel NSW

CATEGORY 12 – BEST TRAVEL CONSULTANT / CORPORATE

• Baris Celik Corporate Travel Management NSW
• Kerry Boiko Campus Travel QLD
• Madeleine Hickey QBT NSW
• Nicole Hay Show Group Enterprise NSW
• Sarah Hackett DBT – Donna Barlow Travel NSW

CATEGORY 13 – BEST TRAVEL AGENCY MANAGER / RETAIL SINGLE LOCATION 

• Debbi Ashes Helloworld Travel Lane Cove NSW
• Joanne Miller italktravel Castle Hill NSW
• Lena Nielson Flight Centre Edgecliff NSW
• Michael Middleton Bicton Travel WA
• Tracey Bremner Globenet Travel QLD

CATEGORY 14 – BEST TRAVEL AGENCY MANAGER / RETAIL MULTI LOCATIONS

• Louise Dann Hunter Travel Group NSW
• Monica Godfrey Platinum Travel NSW
• Natalie Cherry Noosa Cruise & Travel QLD
• Renee Nightingale Helloworld Travel Albury,
  Wangaratta & Wodonga NSW/VIC
• Stuart Ingram Destination HQ VIC

CATEGORY 15 – BEST TRAVEL AGENCY MANAGER / CORPORATE SINGLE LOCATION

• Chris Cheyne Goldman Travel – Bondi Junction NSW
• Donna Meads-Barlow DBT Corporate Travel NSW
• Jamie Maclean Corporate Traveller Cathedral Place QLD
• Lauren Gray Corporate Traveller Bourke Street VIC
•  Zahrah Roush Corporate Traveller South Brisbane QLD

CATEGORY 16 – BEST TRAVEL AGENCY MANAGER / CORPORATE MULTI LOCATION

• Andre Moten Corporate Travel Management QLD
• Sam La Rosa Show Group Enterprise NSW

CATEGORY 17 – YOUNG AGENT OF THE YEAR

• Bayden Quinn Helloworld Travel Broken Hill NSW
• Chelsea Badger Jayes Travel NSW
• Courtney Ashes Helloworld Travel Lane Cove NSW
• Karla Sinclair The Travel Authority NSW
• Meg Blakey Jetsetter Travel QLD

CATEGORY 18 –  BEST DOMESTIC AIRLINE

• Jetstar
• Qantas Airways
• Virgin Australia

CATEGORY 19 – BEST INTERNATIONAL AIRLINE / ON-LINE

• Air New Zealand
• Emirates
• Qantas Airways
• Qatar Airways
• Singapore Airlines

CATEGORY 20 –  BEST INTERNATIONAL AIRLINE / OFF-LINE

• Finnair
• Lufthansa German Airlines
• Oman Air
• Swiss International Air lines

CATEGORY 21 – BEST CRUISE OPERATOR / DOMESTIC DEPLOYMENT

• Carnival Cruise Lines
• Celebrity Cruises
• P&O Cruises Australia
• Princess Cruises
• Royal Caribbean International

CATEGORY 22 – BEST CRUISE OPERATOR / INTERNATIONAL DEPLOYMENT

•  Princess Cruises
• Royal Caribbean International
• Seabourn
• Silversea
•  Viking Cruises

CATEGORY 23 – BEST RIVER CRUISE OPERATOR

• APT
• Avalon Waterways
• Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours
• Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection
•  Viking Cruises

CATEGORY 24> BEST TOUR OPERATOR / DOMESTIC

• AAT Kings
• Adventure Tours Australia
• APT
• Contiki
• Topdeck Travel

CATEGORY 25 – BEST TOUR OPERATOR / INTERNATIONAL

• APT
• Globus
• Insight Vacations
• Intrepid Travel
• Trafalgar

CATEGORY 26 – BEST CAR/CAMPERVAN RENTAL OPERATOR

• Avis
• Britz Campervan Rentals
• Europcar
• Hertz
• Thrifty Car & Truck Rental

CATEGORY 27 – BEST TOURIST OFFICE / INTERNATIONAL

• Dubai Tourism
• Singapore Tourism Board
• Tourism Fiji
• Tourism New Zealand
• Visit California

CATEGORY 28 – BEST SPECIALTY WHOLESALER

• Bench Africa
• Creative Cruisin
• DriveAway Holidays
• Sno’n’Ski
• The Africa Safari Co

CATEGORY 29 – BEST WHOLESALER / AUSTRALIAN PRODUCT

• Excite Holidays
• Qantas Holidays & Viva Holidays
• Sunlover Holidays
•  TravelCube

CATEGORY 30 – BEST WHOLESALER / INTERNATIONAL PRODUCT

• Adventure World
• Excite Holiday
• Qantas Holidays & Viva Holidays
• TravelCube
• Wendy Wu Tours

CATEGORY 31 – BEST AGENCY SUPPORT SERVICE

• Air Tickets
• Cover-More Travel Insurance
• Express Ticketing
• Qantas Industry Centre (QIC)
• Travelport

CATEGORY 32 – BEST SALES EXECUTIVE / INDUSTRY SUPPLIER

• Richard Waugh P&O Cruises Australia QLD
• Michelle Nickelson Air New Zealand QLD
• Lisa McCowan On the Go Tours VIC
• Joseph Keats V Travel Network QLD
• Rebecca Hodgson Emirates Airlines SA

CATEGORY 33 – BEST HOTEL/RESORT GROUP

• AccorHotels Luxe Brands
• Club Med
• Outrigger Resorts
• Shangri La Hotels and Resorts
• The Leading Hotels of the World

CATEGORY 34 – BEST REGISTERED TRAVEL INDUSTRY / TRAINING INSTITUTION

• Cornerstone Learning and Development
• Jetset Training College
• TAFE NSW – Sydney Travel and Tourism
• TAFE Queensland
• TAFE SA

CATEGORY 35 – BEST TRAVEL WRITER / CONSUMER

• Aleney de Winter
• Barry O’Brien
• Christine Retschlag
• Helen Hayes
• Jocelyn Pride

CATEGORY 36 – BEST TRAVEL AGENT TECHNOLOGY / INNOVATION

• Shop & Book Air Tickets
• Qantas Learning Hub Qantas Airways
• Smart Trips – Smartphone Application Smart Trips Pty Ltd
• Tramada GDS App Tramada Systems
• Phenix Travel Counsellors

CATEGORY 37 – EMIRATES TRAVEL CONSULTANT / SCHOLARSHIP

• Alysha Tan Flight Centre Heidelberg VIC
• Courtney Ashes Helloworld Travel Lane Cove NSW
• Jo Arraj JA Travel Solutions NSW
• Kieran Mackenzie Altitude Travel Tea Gardens NSW
• Rachel Husoy Cleary Noosa Travel QLD