Over 160 agents gathered for the annual Yorkshire Travel Ball last week, raising almost £6,000 for various animal charities.
Organised by Selling Travel columnist Sandy Murray of Sandy’s Travel Escapes, the ball invites agents and suppliers to celebrate the travel industry and raise money for charities including: ABTA lifeline, Cancer Research and various animal charities.
The event has raised over £107,000 for charities over the past 25 years.
Murray said: “The Yorkshire Travel Ball is a great way to get everyone together for a well-deserved celebration. Thank you to all those that donated to charity and big thank you to Selling Travel for sponsoring the band Groovething who got everyone up dancing.
“We are hoping to give to Four Paws, Moon Bears, Brooks Horses, Safehaven for Donkeys and Starlight Barking, amongst other animal charities.”
Alison Bull, Key Account Manager at Etihad Holidays, gave away a fam trip place to Abu Dhabi, following the recent news of Etihad Holidays’ expansion into the UK trade market.
Bull said: “I’m excited to host the fam myself and show the agents what a great destination Abu Dhabi is. I think people are always surprised by how friendly the people are and how different it is to other destinations in the Middle East.”
She added: “We are very excited to be working with the trade and our dedicated agent portal has been very well received so far.”
Etihad Holidays offers packages across the Etihad network, including the Middle East, Indian Ocean and Thailand.
Another highlight of the event was the Selling Travel prize draw of a seven-night stay at two luxury resorts in Vietnam: Sailing Club Resort Phu Quoc and the Sailing Club Resort Mui Ne.
The winning agent, Lisa Hagger from Your Travel Partners, said: “I feel so lucky to have won such a fantastic prize. I get married next year and we were thinking of going to Asia for our honeymoon so this is just the cherry on the cake. The resorts look beautiful and I’m so excited to experience the food and culture.”
Other prizes on the night included vouchers, hampers, luxury gifts and more.
