INDIA – 29^th NOVEMBER 2022: Priority Pass, the original and market-leading airport experiences programme, owned and operated by Collinson, is today thrilled to honour its three global Travel Heroes as part of its 30^th birthday celebrations.  

Selected from around the world, the Travel Heroes announced today are Brittany Palmer, Founder & CEO at Beeyonder for the Americas, Melissa Tilling at Charitable Travel for EMEA and Kunj Gandhi, the founder of the Hong Kong Quarantine Support Group on Facebook for the APAC region. Each Travel Hero has been recognised for their outstanding contribution to the world of travel, either assisting travellers or the industry during the pandemic, or playing a critical role in helping it to safely return.  

Our Americas Travel Hero 

Beeyonder’s Brittany Palmer was recognised for her role in helping people to travel the world virtually with live and interactive virtual tours – something that was especially valued during the pandemic. As Beeyonder’s tours are live with local guides, guests can interact and experience the destination like they were there in person. Tours can be taken remotely or in the office as team bonding events, school virtual field trips, in senior residences, or at home with family and friends and each guest has the opportunity to learn about a landmark or area from the local guides who know them best and keep the fun and excitement of travel.  

“I am honoured to be named a Travel Hero and receive one of the exclusive 30^th Birthday membership cards from Priority Pass. I believe the work we are doing at Beeyonder is important to making travel more accessible, and to help local tour guides expand their reach,” “With people gaining access to travel experiences through virtual tourism, I believe that travel will become much more ingrained in people’s everyday lives in the future. Virtual tours make exploring destinations inclusive and accessible, and the number of use cases is consistently increasing.” 

Brittany

Our EMEA Travel Hero 

Melissa Tilling was awarded for founding Charitable Travel, a travel agency formed on the promise to donate its commission to charitable projects around the world. When people book a holiday or cruise with the company, Charitable Travel sacrifices its travel agency commission so travellers can make a free five percent donation to their choice of registered charity through JustGiving.  

“It’s been such an honour to launch Charitable Travel and I’m absolutely thrilled that we’ve been recognised by Priority Pass for the work we’ve done to harness the power and potential of travel and tourism to do good around the world,” said Melissa. “We’ve proven that travel can help improve the livelihoods of some of those most in need – from those in the developing world through to people in vulnerable situations closer to home. Our #travelforgood ethos and the positive impact of travel has already been enhancing tourism’s reputation and we look forward to doing even more in the future.” 

Our APAC Travel Hero 

Kunj Gandhi has been recognised for founding and running the Hong Kong Quarantine Support Group on Facebook. Kunj created the group to support travellers either entering or re-entering Hong Kong as they navigated what have been some of the most stringent Covid restrictions around the world. The group brings people together to share information and experiences, while generally supporting each other as entry and exit criteria continues to change.  

“As an avid traveller myself, it’s an honour and a privilege to be recognised by Priority Pass as the Travel Hero for APAC,”  “The travel industry has been hit hard by the pandemic. So many things we took for granted, like holidays, weekend city breaks or trips to see friends and family became impossible. I’m glad the industry is once again finding its feet and people can rebuild the bonds they had with travel. I’m a huge believer that travel makes people happier, aware of the world around them, and more appreciative of the diversity around us. I also can’t wait to see the APAC region make a comeback as one of the most visited travel destinations.” 

Kunj.

When launching its 30^th birthday festivities earlier this year, Priority Pass revealed that it would award 30 travellers worldwide – a combination of members, lounge visitors and Travel Heroes – with one of its Limited-Edition Priority Pass 30^th Birthday Membership* Cards. All Travel Heroes will receive a sleek Priority Pass gift box accompanied with some luxury travel merchandise, and their very own limited-edition membership card loaded with 60 free lounge visits. 

“Each of our travel heroes has been recognised on their own merit for their outstanding contributions to the world of travel,” “When turning 30, we wanted to share our celebrations with our clients, partners and staff, but also a select group of individuals who have gone above and beyond to help the travel industry recover, be more accessible and be a force for good. The future of travel depends on collaboration and working through challenges as a collective, and Priority Pass remains committed to delivering seamless, premium airport experiences that allow travellers to love the whole journey.” 

David Evans, Joint CEO, Collinson.

Priority Pass launched in 1992 with the view that travel is as much about the journey as the destination, and to offer frequent travellers the premium experience of airport lounges without the first-class ticket. Today, Priority Pass provides travellers with access to 1,300 airport lounges and travel experiences in over 650 airports in 148 countries. Members can access an ever-growing range of premium experiences – from spas to sleeping pods to dining – that help elevate every journey into something special.  

While the industry looks very different today than in 1992 when Priority Pass launched, people are still at the heart of everything the brand does. As well as celebrating the Travel Heroes, Priority Pass awarded its Limited-Edition Priority Pass 30^th Birthday Membership Card to a number of loyal and long-standing members as a thanks for their membership and ongoing love of travel. 

A further set of recipients have been able to win a limited-edition membership card by entering Priority Pass’s #LiveLoveLounge Instagram competition. Travellers are showing just how much they are loving life in the airport lounge by sharing photos or videos of themselves alongside the hashtag #LiveLoveLounge.  

*The truly limited-edition membership card is only available as part of the birthday celebrations, not for retail.  

About Priority Pass 

Priority Pass is the world’s original and market-leading airport experiences programme. Travellers can access a network of 1,300 airport lounges and travel experiences, including dining, retail, sleep and spa, in over 650 airports and travel hubs in 148 countries, helping to elevate the journey into something special.  

For three decades, Priority Pass has been trusted by travellers for business and pleasure, and offered by leading travel, leisure and financial services brands to deepen their most-valued customer relationships.  

Priority Pass is operated by Collinson, the global, privately-owned company dedicated to helping the world to travel with ease and confidence.  

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