Best foot forward: Mumbrella Travel Marketing Awards opens with new categories

The Mumbrella Travel Marketing Awards have opened for 2026, with an expanded program reflecting the changing nature of travel marketing.

Returning on August 27, the awards night will once again celebrate the most effective, creative and strategically sound work across Australia’s travel and tourism sector, with entries open to agencies, brands, publishers, creators and individuals.

Want to be in the running? View the entry criteria and lodge your entries here.

The 2026 program has been broadened to ensure the awards remain both competitive and representative of how the industry operates today — from global brands and major campaigns to smaller teams and specialists. The expanded categories also reflect the shift that content, creators and distribution channels playing a more central role in shaping traveller behaviour.

This year’s event will be curated by Danika Porter, a senior brand and communications leader with more than 20 years’ experience across tourism, media and publishing nationally. Currently with Business Events Tasmania, Porter most recently led the marketing of a portfolio of luxury Tasmanian brands including Saffire Freycinet and MACq 01 Hotel, delivering brand and communications strategies that drove national and international growth and recognition. Porter has also been a jury member of the Travel Marketing Awards for more than eight years.

Danika Porter

Porter said the changes to the awards reflect the expansion beyond traditional channels and formats, to better capture the breadth of work now shaping travel marketing. The growing influence of creators and independent voices is recognised through new individual categories, including content creators and travel writers, acknowledging their role in shaping how audiences discover and engage with travel.

New categories

The publication category has also been refined, separating print and digital to better recognise the distinct strategies, formats and audience behaviours across each.

New categories have been introduced to reflect the rising application of AI in travel marketing, as well as a category dedicated to creativity and craft — recognising the increasing importance of execution, originality and storytelling in driving results.

At a broader level, Brand of the Year has been introduced in three categories covering land, sea and air operators, accommodation and destinations, enabling a more balanced and relevant assessment of brand performance across different parts of the industry.

A new Tourism Impact Award has also been introduced, recognising initiatives that place sustainability, community, inclusion and responsible travel at the centre of marketing activity, and demonstrate a clear role for marketing in driving positive outcomes.

Porter said the changes were designed to ensure the awards remain accessible to a wide range of entrants, and emphasised that “exceptional work isn’t defined by scale or budget – it’s defined by how effectively it solves a problem and the impact it delivers,” she said.

“The expectation is even greater in the category scoring this year, requiring that strong ideas are not only executed well, but are supported by results that can be clearly demonstrated – whether that’s commercial performance, audience engagement or broader impact.”

Entries are now open, with the first deadline set for June 5. Full category criteria are here.

The 2026 awards jury already includes some of the biggest names in the business (see below). If you are a senior marketer in the tourism industry and would like to nominate for this year’s jury, please reach out to Danika Porter on danika@mumbrella.com.au.

Travel Marketing Awards jury

Alexa Theofanou, Head of Marketing – ANZ, Intrepid
Angela Grant, Head of Group Paid Media & Performance, Virgin Australia
Anita Godbeer, General Manager – PR, Social & Content, Tourism Australia
Brona Hyndman, Head of Marketing, PassportCard Travel Insurance
Carly Finch, Head of Marketing & Growth Strategy, Zenith Hotels
Carolyn Childs, CEO, Futurist, Strategist, MyTravelResearch.com
Cassandra Dowe, Head of Brand Planning & Media, Marketing, Royal Caribbean
Courtney Barry, Director of Marketing, Hamilton Island
Emily Eliot, Head of Social Media & Content, Tourism Australia
Geraldine Connell,  Director of Brand, TFE Hotels
Heather Nicholls, Director, Brand & Marketing- Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Accor
Jayesh Kesry, Head of Marketing, Contiki
Johanna Raeder, Head of Marketing APAC, Globus Family of Brands
Julie Dormand, Founder & Consultant, Dormand
Justine Lally, Executive General Manager – Marketing, Journey Beyond
Katherine O’Neil, Director, Global Marketing & Branded Content, Scenic Group
Kathryn Illy, Senior Industry Advisor, Australian Centre in AI for Marketers
Katya Abramzon, Head of Partnerships, Retail & Revenue Growth, Virgin Australia
Kim McConnie, Group Executive Marketing, Tourism & Events Queensland
Kirsty Lucas, SVP Marketing & Partnerships, Brisbane Airport
Louise Rathbone, General Manager Marketing, AFC Women’s Asian Cup
Mandy Alderson, Head of Global Brand Management, Intrepid Travel
Maria Parisi, Marketing Director, Contiki
Megan Henderson, Global Head of Marketing, Flight Centre
Melissa Gruse, Group Director, Marketing, Crystalbrook Collection
Michelle Wiederman, Marketing Director Asia Pacific, Norwegian Cruise Line
Monika Tonkin, Senior Director Global Marketing, Tourism NT
Natasha Prendergast, Head of Marketing, BIG4 Holiday Parks of Australia
Nathan Ting, Former Director, Digital, Customer Engagement & Loyalty, Scenic Group
Oonagh Flanagan, Chief Marketing Officer, Webjet Group
Peter Chapman, Chief Marketing Officer, Reflections Holidays
Philippa Walker, Brand Director, APAC Silversea
Rachel Anker, Former Head of Communications APAC, Merlin Entertainments
Samantha Heckendorf, Head of Brand, Tourism Australia
Sarah-Louise Robinson, Head of Communications, Tourism Fiji