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INTRODUCTION
Can the bar get any higher?
Each year, I think “This will be the year to remember” — the year that creativity, innovation and inspiration in the entries of the Travel Weekly Magellan Awards peaked. Yet this year — the 18th annual Travel Weekly Magellan Awards — has topped all that has come before.
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. With the entire world as its pallet, the travel industry attracts the best and brightest creative minds. Visionaries pop up across the board, with tour operators, travel advisors, cruise lines, air carriers, hoteliers, destinations, car rental companies, travel insurers and the tech companies that serve the travel industry producing concepts with striking originality to capture consumers’ attention.
What’s unique about all facets of the travel industry is that hospitality is at its core, and the motivation to create promotions and products is not merely to attract guests, but to deliver on the promise of the industry’s generous spirit.
Of course, the competitive spirit is another driving force.
Magellan awards honor the best examples of design and promotion, ones that blend the exact right words, materials, shapes, colors and technology to create impressions that stimulate and inspire.
From concept to execution, every company that earns a Silver or Gold Magellan has achieved a level of excellence that rose far above the competition.
Magellan winners are those marketers and designers whose exploration of travel’s possibilities rings true and stands out. Their carefully crafted communications, whether spoken, printed, posted, broadcast or streamed, expand the possibilities of what travel can mean.
The art of conceiving, composing and distributing inspiration on the sales and marketing side and the alchemical process that transforms abstract creative thought into physical beauty on the design side is reflected in what you’re about to review. Prepare to immerse yourself in an inspiring journey.
Arnie Weissmann
Executive Vice President and Editor in Chief, Travel Weekly
LIST OF WINNERS
METHODOLOGY
The Magellan awards honor the best in travel and applaud the talented travel professionals behind it all, from design to marketing to services.
This year’s awards recognize an extensive range of industry segments: Airlines and Airports; Cruise Lines; Destinations; Ground Transportation; Hospitality; Tour Operators; Travel Services and Travel Advisors and Agencies.
Entrants submitted various multimedia elements, such as photos and videos; print materials; and websites, and a panel of 19 highly respected travel industry authorities judged the entries (none judged categories in which they work or have worked).
Entries do not compete with one another but are instead judged against a standard of excellence based on the long experience of Travel Weekly and considering the category entered.
Judges were asked, for example, to consider how relevant the elements of an entry were to its sector of the travel industry, how well designed the supporting elements were and whether they found the entry “appealing or intriguing.”
Those entries scoring between 90 and 100 were given gold Magellans. These entries were considered by the judges to be clearly excellent and the best of the best. Entries scoring from 80 to 90 were deemed outstanding work and were awarded silver Magellans.
Therefore, there might be multiple gold or silver winners in a particular category, or only silver winners, or no winners at all.
MEET THE JUDGES
Travel Weekly is proud to present this esteemed panel of industry experts who have generously volunteered their time to judge and celebrate the achievements of the 2025 Magellan Award winners.
Richard Bangs
Bangs is a pioneer in travel, digital media, e-commerce and other frontiers. He produced the first internet travel site (www.mtsobek.com), the first travel CD ROM (The Adventure Disc) and the first virtual expeditions (www.terra-quest.com). His list of contributions to the world of travel and media includes publishing more than 1,000 articles, 19 books, producing numerous documentaries and lecturing at notable venues. He is host and executive producer of Richard Bangs’ Quests for PBS.
Jean-Claude Baumgarten
An influential leader in global tourism for more than 50 years, Jean-Claude Baumgarten has held executive positions at Air France and World Travel & Tourism Council, where he was a CEO and Vice Chairman. Baumgarten established CREWE Associates in 2011, where he is currently Chairman and CEO. The company provides consulting services to private companies and governments.
Bruce Beckham
Bruce Beckham is a consultant in the travel and tourism industry specializing in travel industry philanthropy and corporate social responsibility. He is the Executive Advisor and the former Executive Director and CEO of the travel industry’s award-winning, non-profit organization, Tourism Cares. He is a Certified Tourism Professional, the former owner of a travel agency and packaged tour company, and a former president of NTA.
Jeanne Colombo
Jeanne is an experienced leader in the travel industry, bringing nearly 35 years of expertise in travel marketing, technology and social media. She began her career with American Express in 1990, making significant contributions at the agency level, driving client success and supporting agency growth before advancing into travel technology. In a senior role, she oversaw innovative technology solutions, impacting the evolving travel landscape, and is lauded for her leadership and strategic vision. A graduate of the University of Orego, she holds an MBA from Fordham Gabelli School of Business in New York City.
Mike Foster
Mike Foster, based in London, Ontario, is a respected travel industry veteran with over 45 years of experience. He built one of Canada’s largest UNIGLOBE agencies, later leading Nexion Travel Group–Canada until 2024. Now retired, he remains active as an advisor, writer, and investor in travel services. Known for advisor-focused insights on strategy, client care and tech, Mike has served on TICO and ACTA boards. He continues mentoring professionals and advocating for consumer trust, operational excellence, and sustainable growth in Canada’s travel landscape.
Paula Hayes
Over four decades, Paula Hayes has led award-winning sales teams for The Big Red Boat, SuperClubs, Club Med, the Globus family of brands and Avalon Waterways. She is an active member of ASTA, CLIA, and PATH. As an advocate for the agency community, she has been awarded most recently with the Female Leaders in Travel Luminary Award, by TravelAge West for Outstanding Service to the Travel Industry in the West and by Travel Weekly with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.
Dave Hilfman
Dave Hilfman retired from United Airlines at the end of 2018 after 37 years in the airline industry. In 2018, he was a recipient of Travel Weekly’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Karen Hughes
Karen Hughes has over 40 years of experience in tourism and hospitality, beginning as a retail travel agent with AAA and American Express. She held senior management roles with Pleasant Holidays and spent 16 years at Starwood Hotels, overseeing sales, marketing, and revenue for its Hawaii and Tahiti resorts. Karen later served as Starwood’s vice president of global leisure sales. Most recently, she held leadership roles in Hawaii’s tourism sector, including vice president positions at the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau and Hawaii Tourism Authority.
Johnny Jet
John E. DiScala, aka Johnny Jet, has traveled over 100,000 miles a year since starting his newsletter in 1995 and has visited close to 100 countries. He and his website JohnnyJet.com have been mentioned in major publications, including USA Today and The Los Angeles Times and he has appeared on network TV. He was named one of Forbes Top 10 Travel Influencers.
Rob Kwortnik, PhD
Dr. Kwortnik is an Associate Professor of Services Marketing at Cornell School of Hotel Administration. He has published in the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Service Research, The International Journal of Research in Marketing, The Journal of Travel Research, Tourism Management and the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly. He has been honored nine times as a Teacher of the Year at Cornell and is a recognized expert on the leisure cruise industry.
Bob Lambert
Bob Lambert spent over 30 years with Avis Budget Group and its predecessor companies, where he held multiple senior leadership positions, both in the field and at a headquarters level. He is currently a Managing Director in the Scottsdale, Ariz., office of executive search firm Harvard Group International (HGI), focusing on multiple industries, including non-profit, travel and transportation and sports and entertainment.
Marilyn Macallair
Marilyn has spent more than 40 years in marketing and sales in the travel industry. In 2018, she retired as VP, Business Development at Passport Online, a leader in technology solutions for the leisure travel market. Marilyn managed marketing and sales, customer support and training, and email marketing/social media at Passport and was also account manager for Passport’s leading consortia customers. Since retiring, Marilyn provides consulting services to Passport Online and Phocuswright.
Elizabeth Mayo Filippi
Elizabeth Mayo Filippi is an accomplished event management professional with extensive experience in travel and events. She began at Northstar Travel Group in 2004, serving seven years as Director of Events for Travel Weekly and Meetings & Conventions. In 2011, she became an independent contractor for leading clients such as CruiseOne, Signature Travel Network, and Travel Weekly. A Level III Sommelier since 2013, Elizabeth founded ETM Events and ETM Wine Tours, specializing in wine-themed European river cruises generating over $3 million annually. ETM earned Scenic’s Rising Star Award in 2023. She also consults on the Pebble Beach Leadership Forum event.
Diane Merlino
Diane Merlino is a seasoned business journalist who has been covering the business and leisure travel industries for more than 30 years. Her work spans news reporting, research and analysis, and the development of white papers across every sector of the industry—including distribution, technology, destinations and all verticals.
Kathy Misunas
Misunas currently serves as an advisor and Board Director to various public and private businesses, and acts as a principal of Essential Ideas, a consultancy specializing in the global travel and tourism, technology and online retailing fields. Previously, she was CEO of SABRE, CIO of American Airlines and CEO of Reed Travel Group. Misunas is a co-author of the publication Multi-Channel Distribution: The Essential Guide.
Norie Quintos
Quintos is a consultant for the travel industry on communications strategy, media relations, custom content and messaging. An award-winning journalist, she is an Editor at Large for National Geographic Travel Media. She is the former executive editor of National Geographic Traveler and was an editor at U.S. News and World Report and Caribbean Travel and Life. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Adventure Travel Conservation Fund.
Brian Robb
Robb is a travel industry consultant and serves as Board Chair for The Travel Institute. He started his long travel career in sales and sales management, representing an international airline and hotel group. He followed that with roles at Carlson Companies, including Global Vice President of Marketing. More recently, he focused on corporate and product strategies at La Macchia Enterprises.
Michele Saegesser
Michele brings over 40 years of leadership to the global travel industry. Her career spans iconic brands including Disneyland Resort, Princess Cruises and Viking, where she served as Vice President of Sales and National Accounts and helped establish Viking’s first office in Australia. She pioneered luxury rail travel in North America as Rocky Mountaineer’s first U.S. representative and founder of a boutique rail-focused business. Michele has earned the TravelAge West Excellence in Leadership Award, Travvy Awards Travel Hall of Fame induction, and the Travel Weekly Lifetime Achievement Award.
Wayne Wielgus
A hospitality industry veteran of more than 30 years, Wielgus is the founder of the International Advisor Group, a consultancy for the hospitality industry. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President of Marketing for Celebrity Cruises and Azamara and Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Choice Hotels International.