At the annual AWTE Christmas lunch, £16,653 was raised for charity.

The National Deaf Children’s Society was represented by Rachel Shenton who spoke about personal experience of being affected by deafness when her father became deaf after bouts of chemotherapy.

Rachel explained to the audience that deafness was not a learning disability, but lack of understanding held children back in their personal development.

Held in the Connaught Rooms in central London, guests were given a crash course in sign language by the charity choir singing Christmas carols.

Significant contributors to the fund raising were Nick Hughes from Gold Medal who led the auction and lead sponsors Seabourn and Attraction World.

The lunch ends a record performing year for AWTE. Membership is at an all-time high and new strategic partnership with organisations such as the GTMC have boosted the organisations reach and influence.

Chair of AWTE Sarah Clayton Turner said:

“It has been a year of transition for AWTE. As an organisation we have become focused on issues that affect the careers of women in the travel industry and have recalibrated our events accordingly. Our recent Non-Exec Director masterclass was a great example of how we responded to requests from our members and hosted development session for 20 senior execs with an extremely high-profile panel. I have no doubt that 2018 will see the organisation develop further”.

The fund raising included £3,628 collected for the AWTE Benevolent Fund.