Guild celebrates 50th anniversary in style at The Savoy

From top travel industry awards to Trappist beer, Art Deco glamour to Agatha Christie’s famous detective and Smurfs to Tintin’s canine sidekick Snowy – the BGTW’s 2010 showcase dinner combined work and play, plus quite a few surprises.

Marking the Guild’s 50th anniversary year it was fitting that the 14th annual awards evening was the first event hosted at the newly re-opened Savoy. The iconic hotel, fresh from its eagerly awaited multi-million pound makeover, was certainly a memorable venue for the milestone event.

After a break of two years BGTW members, sponsors, PRs, tour operators, destination representatives and travel industry colleagues once again gathered in the River Room for the customary sparkling reception. With so much to celebrate the Champagne certainly flowed, setting the scene for the evening.

It was soon time to move into the opulent Lancaster ballroom where BGTW Chairman Melissa Shales welcomed guests and advised them to expect the unexpected, initially illustrated by the sight of cheerful Smurfs on the tables. It was the first sign that this was not your average black tie event, and as the evening unfolded there was something new at every turn.

Melissa thanked the Belgian Tourist Office – Brussels & Wallonia for sponsoring the event, and many things uniquely Belgian flavoured the evening in every sense of the word. Anyone tempted to indulge in the corny joke about naming five famous Belgians would later find plenty of inspiration in the goody bag containing the ultimate guide to, you’ve guessed it, eminent people from Belgium!

The Belgian sense of humour also featured in the food, where the delicious main course of lamb braised in Chimay Trappist Beer included Brussels sprouts artistically arranged around the side of the plate. They provided quite a talking point amongst some of our overseas friends who had their first introduction to the infamous vegetable, and everyone was certainly smiling when mouth-watering Belgian chocolates rounded off the meal.

The raffle was in aid of The Travel Foundation, and Melissa handed over to representative David Cowell to provide an insight into the organisation’s work. Founded in 2003, The Travel Foundation is the travel industry’s own charity, set up to respond to concerns over the sustainability of travel and tourism. The charity runs far-reaching projects under the themes of education, people and livelihoods and climate change, encouraging the protection and preservation of natural resources, local traditions and culture. With everyone in the room associated with the industry it took little persuasion from BGTW members John Bell, Mary Anne Evans and Martin Roberts to get people to buy tickets and the raffle raised £4,626.

Like the dinner, the success of the raffle is dependent upon the generosity of the sponsors and the lucky winners went home with fantastic prizes. They were a country house week in Devon, courtesy of Helpful Holidays; a week’s skiing in Austria, donated by Hotel Orgler and the Salzburgerland and Zell am See Kaprun regions; a week-long holiday in Corsica, courtesy of Corsican Places; flights to Istanbul with Pegasus Airlines and three nights at the Pera Palace Hotel, donated by the airline and hotel; three nights skiing, courtesy of Les Diablerets region, Swiss International Air Lines and Swiss Travel System; a one-week villa holiday in Cyprus, donated by Sunvil Holidays and two nights in Athens followed by seven nights on Crete, courtesy of the City of Athens, Athens Tourism and Economic Development Co. and Aldemar Royal Mare Hotel. Last, but by no means least, was a gastronomy and spa trip donated by the evening’s sponsors, Belgian Tourist Office – Brussels & Wallonia, in conjunction with Rail Europe.

It was also a winning occasion for those who left with awards. BGTW members nominated and voted for the Tourism Awards, representing a diverse range of attractions and projects around the world, and the hotly contested Members’ Awards were judged by travel experts with prizes kindly donated by the tourism industry.

Also in the spotlight were the very capable members David Prest, Carmen Roberts, Paul Wade and Fiona Quinn, who took to the stage to variously compere the proceedings, introduce awards, help with the raffle and present prizes and, in the case of John Ruler and Peter Hughes, add to the evening’s surprise element by respectively sealing the Guild’s 50th anniversary time capsule and running through an illuminating snapshot of the Guild’s history.

History was also made when actor David Suchet, whose name is synonymous with Hercule Poirot, stepped on stage to be named the first Honorary Famous Belgian by the sponsors.

As always recognition and thanks must go to the team that work tirelessly behind the scenes to make the event such a huge success, particularly Mary Anne Evans, John Bell, Fiona Quinn, Frances Howorth and the Guild Secretariat, Benita Finanzio and Robert Ellison.

Whilst 2010 was extra special for the Guild, the dinner on the eve of World Travel Market is undoubtedly an annual highlight. As guests stepped out into The Strand with their goody bags of Belgian treats they certainly had plenty to talk about. Here’s to the next 50 years of the BGTW.

Jeannine Williamson