The Judges
The Inspire Global Tourism Awards are independently judged by a panel of respected tourism leaders and specialists, bringing expertise across sustainability, destination development, research, technology, communications and the visitor economy.
2026 Judging Panel
Our judges bring different perspectives to the process, but share a commitment to recognising tourism that combines exceptional visitor experiences with meaningful positive impact.
Entries are assessed against our three pillars — INSPIRE • INFORM • IMPACT — with judges considering the depth, authenticity and effectiveness of each operator’s approach rather than simply the scale or resources of the business.
Caroline Bremner
CAROLINE BREMNER ASSOCIATESCaroline Bremner - Caroline Bremner Associates
Caroline Bremner is a strategic advisor to the travel and tourism industry with 30 years experience in international market research, data and intelligence.
She advises global brands and destinations on how to navigate the new travel normal, embrace consumer trends, digitalisation and sustainable innovation for business success. She has written and spoken extensively about the future of travel.
Caroline’s book ‘Future-Proofing Travel: How to Create a Resilient and Sustainable Industry’ was published in March 2025 by Kogan Page. Future-proofing Travel shows how travel companies and destinations are currently adapting their practices to be more impact conscious.
Over 1996-2025, Caroline held a variety of roles at Euromonitor International including Senior Head of Travel Research, speaking around the world about travel trends.
In 2018, she was a recipient of a Celebrating Her award from ITB Berlin and the Institute for Peace Through Tourism for empowered women in travel and tourism.
Alison Burgh
ACORN TOURISMAlison Burgh - Acorn Tourism
Experienced regenerative and sustainable visitor economy and place development strategist and mentor, Head of Sustainability for the Tourism Management Institute and Green Destinations partner in the UK, Jordan, Colombia. Working with destination managers and entrepreneurs to support their journey to become more resilient and sustainable.
Since co-founding Acorn Tourism in 2002, the only Green Tourism Gold certified consultancy in the UK, I've worked with more than 100 destinations and businesses across five continents to help their communities strengthen their place and diversify their visitor offer, providing strategic thinking, place making, capacity building, niche market insights and developing experiences and digital marketing campaigns.
Charlie Cotton
ECOLLECTIVECharlie Cotton - ecollective
Charlie Cotton is a carbon geek who is on a mission to prove that world-class adventures don't have to cost the Earth. By combining his carbon measurements with a little bit of common sense, he helps travel brands to change how they operate to reduce carbon emissions whilst improving the customer experience.
Helena Egan
PLANET EGANHelena Egan - Planet Egan
Over 30 years experience gained predominantly in the travel, tourism, hospitality and online industry with deep passion for responsible and sustainable growth. Excellent communicator, a sought after board member, advisor, strategist, marketeer, chair, judge, facilitator, keynote speaker and moderator. Widely known and respected in the global travel and tourism industry with confident, ambitious yet highly personable manner. A natural leader and advisor with bags of energy, business acumen and a strong ability to strategise, advise, influence and build bridges to achieve measurable results.
Albert Kimbu
UNIVERSITY OF SURREYAlbert Kimbu - University of Surrey
Dr Albert KIMBU is a Professor of Sustainability in Business at the Surrey Business School, University of Surrey, UK. He also serves as co-Director of the Centre for Sustainability and Wellbeing in the Visitor Economy (SWELL), Director of the Gender, Entrepreneurship and Social Policy Institute (GESPi) both at Surrey, and a Senior Research Associate in the School of Tourism and Hospitality, University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Albert is an internationally recognised thought leader whose research explores gendered entrepreneurial pathways in tourism, women and social entrepreneurship with a focus on advancing inclusive development within the visitor economy across both established and emerging destinations. He has authored four books and more than 50 journal articles in leading tourism and hospitality management journals. This is in addition to leading impact-driven consultancy projects, producing groundbreaking reports, and delivering keynote speeches and panel contributions on these themes for national governments, civil society entities, and international organizations such as UN Tourism, UNIDO, the World Bank and the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) among others.
Jim Millward
SPRUCE MARKETINGJim Millward - Spruce Marketing
Jim is the founder of Spruce, a marketing consultancy for SME travel businesses, with clients across the tour operator, DMC and accommodation sectors. Jim's experience includes heading up the marketing team at Audley Travel for 15 years. He also has a strong interest in sustainability and wrote and implemented Audley's sustainability policies.
Shaon Talukder
GEOTOURISTShaon Talukder - Geotourist
CEO & Founder of Geotourist, Shaon, named by Entrepreneur.com Magazine in their Top 10 Global Travel Disruptors alongside Brian Chesky of AirBnB, leads the charge in experiential & data-led tourism.
Geotourist’s world first AI-powered interactive holograms transforms landscapes & buildings into personalised mixed-reality experiences that drive measurable footfall using smartphones & AR glasses.
Leadership roles include: Strategic Advisor on Data and AI to the UK Government Tourism Minister, Visitor Economy Advisory Council Member; Fellow of The Tourism Society; Chair of National Council of DMOs for the Tourism Management Institute; & Founding Member of Phocuswright’s TravelTechNation Fellowship; Male Allyship Group & BBC AI-Travel contributor. Author on AI & advisor to several startups and tech accelerators including Project DMO Compass - a UK-Centralised Intelligence AI for DMOs to bridge the funding and skills gap.
Geotourist’s data platform solved View-to-Visit attribution and been officially recognised as a United Nations initiative to measure Sustainability Development Goals. Tourism organisations, hospitality & attractions can enhance the visitor experience & bring visitors right to their doorsteps.