The story

Why we built the awards travel forgot to build.

The people who now decide where the world travels have never had a credible global stage. We run awards for a living, we watched the gap sit there, and we decided to claim it.

The gap

Every part of travel has a trophy. Except the part that works.

Hotels have awards. Airlines have awards. Destinations, cruise lines and travel journalists all have awards, some of them decades old and rightly respected. Meanwhile the booking decision quietly moved to a phone screen, into the hands of creators, and the trophy cabinet never noticed. The people with the most influence over where the world actually goes have a token category here and a certificate mill there. That is the gap. Gaps like this get filled once, by whoever moves first and does it credibly.

Creator firstBuilt around creators, not squeezed in beside journalists
GlobalAny creator, any country, any platform
JudgedA named industry panel scoring impact, not follower count
Free to enterFunded by partners and tickets, never by creators
Who is behind it

Awards people, not tourists.

The Passport Awards comes from the team behind the London Lifestyle Awards, one of the capital's established awards brands, and runs end to end on Accolade, the awards platform we built: nominations, blind judging, public voting and ticketing on one system. We have staged the room before. This time we are staging it for the people who film it.

The pedigree

London Lifestyle Awards

Years of running credible, judged, sold out awards in London. The Passport Awards launches alongside it in the same venue, which is why the launch edition starts strong instead of scrappy.

The machinery

Powered by Accolade

Nominations, judging, voting and tickets run on our own awards platform. No spreadsheets, no black box: blind scoring, audit trails and a public methodology.

The principle

Credibility is the product

Free entry, a named panel, published criteria and partners who never vote. The moment an award can be bought it is worth nothing. Ours cannot be.

Where this goes

Year one is the launch. The plan is an institution.

2026

The launch edition

Twenty five categories, the first Stamped 100, the golden passport stamped on stage the day before WTM.

EVERY YEAR

The Stamped 100

The annual ranking becomes the reference list for the industry: cited in media kits, used in briefs, argued about in group chats.

MID YEAR

Arrivals

The rising stars drop keeps the brand alive between ceremonies and feeds the next Class.

BEYOND

The credential

"Won a Passport" becomes the line in a creator's bio that brands look for. That is the whole ambition, and it compounds every year.

Get involved

Three doors in.

Creators nominate. Brands and boards partner. Everyone else gets a ticket and watches the first Class of 2026 get stamped.

Nominate Partner with us Get tickets

The founders

Who is behind this

The Passport Awards is founded and produced by two operators who have spent a combined three decades building award institutions, and who live inside the travel and hospitality industries this event serves.

Paul Sagoo OBE

Paul Sagoo OBE

Co founder

Founder of The Asian Awards, the global institution that has honoured Sachin Tendulkar, Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Jackie Chan, and whose ceremonies have trended number one worldwide with over four billion social impressions in a single night. Founder of Lemon Group International, The British Photography Awards and The British Science Awards, and one of LinkedIn's original Influencers alongside Sir Richard Branson. Appointed OBE in 2022 for services to diversity, inclusion and philanthropy. A lifelong traveller who has spent two decades putting the world's most influential people in one room.

Jason Gale

Jason Gale

Co founder

Founder of the London Lifestyle Awards, the annual celebration of the capital's hospitality, culture and lifestyle that has drawn more than 2.5 million public votes and presented over 250 awards since 2009. Nearly thirty years in hospitality marketing, starting as the Rank Group's youngest promotions manager and going on to build campaigns for hotels, restaurants, bars and members' clubs across London. A regular broadcast voice on the industry across BBC, Sky, ITV and LBC, and one of the earliest advocates of creator led marketing in hospitality.

Built by people who build awards

The track record

The Asian Awards

Founded 2010. Honourees from Sachin Tendulkar to Shah Rukh Khan; trended number one worldwide with over four billion social impressions in a single night.

Founded by Paul Sagoo OBE

London Lifestyle Awards

Founded 2009. Over 2.5 million public votes and 250 awards presented across the capital's hospitality and lifestyle scene.

Founded by Jason Gale

British Photography Awards

The national celebration of British photographic talent, run with charitable partnerships across the industry.

Founded by Paul Sagoo OBE

British Science Awards

Recognising the scientists and innovators shaping Britain's future.

Founded by Paul Sagoo OBE

The Lemon Group

The investment and events group behind the portfolio, thirty years of building brands, rooms and institutions.

Chaired by Paul Sagoo OBE

2 November 2026

All of that experience pointed at one afternoon: the first global awards honouring travel creators, at the Royal Lancaster London.

The Passport Awards