New NTIA sponsorship era
Singapore Airlines’ signing as the major sponsor of the National Travel Industry Awards (NTIA) (TD breaking news) sees the carrier step up even more on its previous longstanding support for the event.
AFTA CEO Dean Long said the Federation was extremely excited that SQ had come on board in the new partnership.
“NTIA is the major awards night for the entire travel industry,” he told Travel Daily yesterday.
“Having a premium carrier like Singapore Airlines sponsoring the premium awards night is a perfect brand alignment between both organisations.
“We’re really excited about how we activate during the night and leading up to the night to engage the trade, and the really great thing is we’ve got a common goal of having a fun, entertaining and inclusive evening planned, so it’s going to be really exciting.”
This year the 15 Oct industry night of nights will operate in a new format, with about 30% less awards, revised categories and new nomination and judging procedures (TD 22 Jun) - and all the celebrations will be “in the room”, rather than extending into the traditional SIA after-party.
“The party needs to be in the room,” Long said.
Greg McJarrow, Singapore Airlines GM Agency Sales, said the commitment was part of SQ’s ongoing key role in the industry.
“We’ve been here for 55 years, we’ve been hand-in-hand with the travel industry over the last two years,” he said.
“For us this is an easy decision, frankly, an opportunity to support the trade further, to celebrate their efforts and recognise what we’ve all been through over the past two years,” McJarrow added.
Further details of the nomination and voting formats for the highly anticipated 2022 NTIAs are expected to be revealed in the coming days.
YESTERDAY’S momentous signing of the major National Travel Industry Awards sponsorship deal between AFTA and Singapore Airlines (see p1) was witnessed by some very special guests from the carrier.
SQ flight attendants on their way to the airport (pictured) stood by during the ceremony in which AFTA CEO Dean Long and SIA GM Agency Sales Greg McJarrow signed the very important piece of paper, confirming the carrier’s increased commitment to the event and longstanding support for the travel trade over the last 55 years.
McJarrow said the carrier was delighted to be taking up the mantle as the event’s major sponsor, saying “it is exciting to be able to come together and celebrate the resilience of the Australian travel industry”.