TTG Luxury Summer 2024

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On this page in the last issue of the magazine, I talked about crying. Well, there have been more tears since then. Many of you will have heard or know personally of the tragic, too-soon passing of beautiful travel agent Angela Mayall, much-loved by all the Designer Travel family and many supplier partners and fellow agents.

I was privileged to award Angela her trophy as winner of this year’s Luxury Travel Designer of the Year, and the utter joy in her win was evident; she put so much energy into all she did and will be sorely missed. I was last in touch with her as she made her way back from the Maldives, where she had spent time with her daughter at the InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort – a place I took six other agents to on our recent TTG Luxury Journey.

Yes, the resort is magnificent, but what I was most enamoured with on the trip (apart from the manta rays we saw; I cried then too) was how vibrant and smart the agents were. Your jobs are far from easy but the rewards are many for those who put in the effort and pour in the passion.

I was asked to be on podcast The Holiday That Changed My Life recently, and host Jen Atkinson said how dedicated to the industry I have been, often to the detriment of my personal life. I can’t help it. Travel is an emotional business, it sucks us in and keeps us so busy and obsessed we cannot think of anything else – whether it’s building the perfect holiday or the most interesting events.

I won’t pretend I knew Angela well, but I feel I understand her spirit. I think we shared some similarities: how proud we are of what we do, and I know many of you reading this feel the same. If you don’t, you bloody well should.

April Hutchinson
Editor, TTG Luxury
@aprilhutchinson