Travel Gossip has announced it will launch travel agent regional awards in 2026 after acquiring The Geordie Ball and The South West & Wales Ball.
It bought the long-established Geordie Ball, which has been going for 25 years, and the recently relaunched South West & Wales Ball from the founder Darren Phillips.
The Geordie Ball, which takes place in Gosforth Park every March, attracts around 200 guests.
Travel Gossip CEO Bruce Martin said: “We’re delighted to welcome these two events into the Travel Gossip portfolio. Darren has created something truly special with The Geordie Ball – it’s the longest-running regional travel trade event in England and is held in genuine affection by the travel community across the North East.
“We’re committed to building on this solid foundation, maintaining the same popular venue and timing, while adding some Travel Gossip sparkle to the experience. We’re equally excited about growing Darren’s promising work in the South West.
“Travel agents are at the heart of everything we do at Travel Gossip, so acquiring these events aligns perfectly with our expansion plans for delivering unbeatable agent engagement and results for our travel partners.
“I’d like to personally thank Darren for entrusting us with his creations. We look forward to working alongside him to ensure their continued success.”
Darren said the sell-out Geordie Ball will ‘reach new heights with Travel Gossip behind it’.
“It needs to be taken to another level by someone with the time and expertise and Bruce and (Travel Gossip Managing Director) Anwar are the right people to do that. The scope is massive.”
Travel Gossip will use the two events as platforms to host new travel agent regional awards, one for the North East and one for the South West and Wales, with plans for other regional awards to follow.
The events will continue to take place in their existing venues, with The Geordie Ball at The Grand Hotel in Gosforth Park and The South West & Wales Ball at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Bristol.
