Last year’s winners

Face of Travel 2008 winners Karen Eason and Ryan Inman have been living the high life since accepting their crowns on board Independence of the Seas last April.

Over the last 12 months they have attended a whole host of glamorous events and had the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the industry’s elite at top networking events. They’ve also been entertained by Scouting For Girls, sailed around the Med on a 14-night cruise and been guests of honour at TTG’s very own event of the year – our prestigious Travel Awards in London.

Here they summarise why they got involved, some of the highlights of winning – and share some tips on how this year’s entrants can bag the top prize.

Karen Eason, Sunshine Travel

Karen (right) picks up her winner’s certificate from TTG editor Lucy Huxley

All the nice prizes were certainly an attractive incentive to enter last year’s competition, but it was also the potential opportunities for raising my business profile if I were to do well which spurred me on to enter.

I would strongly recommend other agents get involved this year. The competition has created some fantastic new business opportunities for us which wouldn’t have happened had we not entered. For example, we had always been wary of selling cruise but with the support of last year’s sponsor Royal Caribbean, which I’ve developed a very good relationship with, we’ve now developed a cruise business from scratch and set up a cruise club for clients.

Karen’s Travel Girl creation impressed the judges

BBC Wiltshire has also taken an interest in my story and covered it a few times which has boosted interest amongst the local community and attracted more business. The best bit however has been some of the events that I have been invited to. The TTG Travel Awards at the Grosvenor Hotel in London were great. They shone a spotlight on us during the awards so that everyone could see who we were! Going to Abta’s Travel Convention in Gran Canaria was also really interesting because we’re not an Abta member so it was good to hear the association’s take on the industry.

One of the best bits for me, however, was the final itself onboard Independence. We got to see Scouting For Girls and network with so many good contacts. The whole atmosphere on the ship was just buzzing and fun.

For anyone thinking of entering I would say: be fun and quirky. Don’t take yourself  too seriously and when it comes to presenting, think outside the box.

Ryan Inman, Cruise Thomas Cook

TTG editor Lucy Huxley presents Ryan with his winner’s certificate

I entered the competition to get more out of the travel industry – to network, meet new people and to help with my own career development.

When I won Face of Travel I became a bit of a celebrity – not amongst clients particularly, as I was in the homeworking division, but amongst my colleagues. No-one knew who I was before the competition but after I picked up the award it felt like everyone at Thomas Cook knew my name! I even got a letter of congratulations from Manny! (Thomas Cook CEO)

In fact it’s been mad ever since. In addition to all the events I’ve attended as part of my prize, I’ve landed a new job, still within Cruise Thomas Cook, as sales and development executive for the south. I’d like to think that through the competition, my raised profile helped me to secure the role. It’s also been the starting point for a great relationship with Royal Caribbean staff, some of whom have become great friends and offer me a lot of support in my job.

Ryan’s Clark Kent impersonation ensured his title as the day’s super man

On the events side, the highlights have been the TTG Travel Awards, the cruise on Independence which was phenomenal, and going to Abta’s Travel Convention where I was able to attend a dedicated cruise masterclass and meet the guys at Fred Olsen, Carnival and Royal Caribbean. Being a Rover Reader for TTG hasn’t been difficult either because I’ve always been pointed in the right direction and given a full brief of what aspects to write about when I feed back from an event.

I would certainly recommend other agents go ahead and enter this year. It’s a great opportunity to raise your profile and I wouldn’t be where am now if I hadn’t given it a go. Yes, it’s helped with my job role but it’s also great for my personal development and really boosted my confidence.

Any advice I would give would be to enjoy the experience and be creative to ensure you’re one step ahead of the competition.