Hannagan & Greive Travel Associates owner and business leader Alexandra Hannagan was named ‘‘Retail Consultant of the Year’’ at the 2026 National Travel Industry Awards recently.
She was among five finalists in the running for the award — one of two from the South Island.
All 19 awards were presented by the Travel Agents’ Association of New Zealand at a function in Auckland earlier this month.
Mrs Hannagan, who is also an Otago Daily Times travel writer, said the result was still yet to fully sink in.
At the time, she did not even hear her name being called.
‘‘Honestly, I kind of was in shock.
‘‘I sort of cried,’’ she said.
‘‘It was just so surreal.’’
She was also proud to have put Dunedin in the spotlight and shown how the city could punch above its weight.
The awards were ‘‘huge’’ and considered the highest form of recognition in the country’s travel sector.
She was encouraged to put her name forward by clients, friends and her husband.
‘‘I’m pleased I did now.’’
Mrs Hannagan had worked in the travel industry for 18 years and opened the Dunedin firm nearly 13 years ago.
She designed travel itineraries for clients and had visited a total of 56 countries.
Whether it was a walking tour of the Great Wall of China or a bespoke cruise in Greece, she felt a lot of responsibility to make people’s ‘‘dream trip’’ a reality, she said.
‘‘I’m so privileged to be able to let people put their trust in me, to be able to put such amazing one-of-a-kind travel itineraries together for them.
‘‘That’s what is really special.’’
