Luxury Travel Collection (LTC) has crowned the winners of its inaugural Pinnacle of Luxury Awards, with cruise specialist Ross Quigly emerging as the standout individual performer during an exclusive celebration on Queensland’s Makepeace Island.
The new awards recognise the advisors, businesses and partners shaping LTC’s performance across Australia and New Zealand, spanning sales achievement, client service and contribution to the network’s luxury offering.
For the inaugural presentation, finalists and industry partners were brought together at Makepeace Island, the private Sunshine Coast retreat ordinarily reserved for its guests. The setting made a clear statement about the stature Luxury Travel Collection intends the awards to hold within its network.
A Pinnacle hat-trick
Ross Quigly of Luxury Cruise Escapes collected three of the evening’s most significant individual accolades: the LTC Advisor Product Award, Galeries de Luxe Advisor of the Year and the top Pinnacle of Cruise title.
Quigly said the recognition reflected the trust on which the luxury travel sector is built, both between advisors and their clients and across the wider industry.
“Winning three Pinnacles is an incredible honour, particularly in the inaugural year of the awards,” he said.
“Luxury travel is ultimately about the trust our clients place in us and the relationships we build across the industry, so to be recognised by LTC in this way means a great deal.
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“I’m also incredibly proud of the entire Luxury Cruise Escapes team. These awards reflect the passion, expertise and commitment they bring to our clients every day.”
Luxury Cruise Escapes also took out Category One in both the LTC Business Product Award and Galeries de Luxe Business of the Year.
Flat Beds Tour + Cruise won Category Two in both business awards, while Bicton Travel claimed the corresponding Category Three honours.
The results place three businesses operating at different scales on equal footing within their respective categories, recognising consistency as well as headline sales performance.
Cruise advisors recognised across the Collection
Ten advisors were named to the 2026 Pinnacle of Cruise Collection:
- Alana Sale, Flat Beds Tour + Cruise
- Damian Clark, Travel Associates Burleigh
- Genevieve Thompson, Flat Beds Tour + Cruise
- Kristy Cornish, Flat Beds Tour + Cruise
- Lisa McKenzie, Luxury Cruise Escapes
- Natalie Lenarcic, Flat Beds Tour + Cruise
- Rachel Styring, Luxury Cruise Escapes
- Sarah O’Brien, Flat Beds Tour + Cruise
- Sharon Griffin, Flat Beds Tour + Cruise
- Tracey Irving, Tailby & James Travel Associates
Viking Cruises received the Luxury Travel Collection Partner Excellence Award.
The prominence of cruise businesses and specialists among the inaugural winners reflects the increasingly complex role of the luxury advisor. As premium cruise choices multiply, the value lies not simply in securing a suite but in understanding the nuances between ships, itineraries and onboard experiences, and matching them to the right client.
Recognising what drives luxury growth
Luxury Travel Collection General Manager Nikki Glading said the scale and setting of the celebration were designed to match the achievements being recognised.
“We wanted Pinnacles to feel every bit as exceptional as the achievements we were celebrating,” she said.
“These are the members and advisors setting the standard for luxury travel across Australia and New Zealand, and they deserve to be celebrated at the very highest level. This is what it means to be part of a House of Luxury.”
Flight Centre Travel Group Managing Director Luxury & Independent Dani Galloway said the winners demonstrated the broader commercial influence of the luxury sector.
“Luxury has always been where this industry finds its next level, and this year’s winners are proof of that level,” she said.
“What stands out isn’t just the results, it’s the standard they set for everyone around them. That’s what luxury does: it leads, and the rest of the business follows.
“Pinnacles matters because it shows the whole network where growth and opportunity keep coming from.”
That opportunity is increasingly tied to the expertise and influence of the advisor. In a market where affluent travellers can access almost limitless information, the ability to interpret that choice, secure scarce experiences and provide confidence when plans become complicated remains a defining luxury service.
By establishing the Pinnacles, Luxury Travel Collection is not only rewarding sales. It is formalising the value of the people and businesses that turn access, knowledge and relationships into an experience clients cannot easily replicate themselves.
KARRYON UNPACKS: The island setting supplied the theatre, but the winners reveal the more consequential story. Luxury travel’s growth continues to depend on specialist knowledge, trusted relationships and advisors capable of navigating an increasingly crowded premium market. LTC’s new awards give that contribution a higher-profile stage.
