THE ADVISORY BOARD 60 seconds with…


Jimmy Rowan head of sports travel operator Spectate


Q. How was 2025? Last year went phenomenally well. Cricket and Formula One are our bread and butter – we have a dedicated cricket following and the 2025-26 Ashes Down Under was our biggest ever tour. F1 gets more popular every year, and the 2026 Abu


Dhabi Grand Prix has delivered well. We’ve seen a really good expression of interest in rugby, tennis, golf and football this year too. There’s a definite opportunity in US sports – we had some Super Bowl enquiries this year, as well as baseball, ice hockey and football, so I want to try and conquer that.


+° 7h>Ì >Ài >vyÕinÌ VliinÌý «ÀioÀiÌiià in ëoÀÌà ÌÀ>Ûil¶ Hospitality is huge. Cricket clients are often high-income retirees who spend weeks each year following England on every overseas tour. They want to be in all-inclusive hospitality boxes and will happily pay for the best seats in the house. F1 fans are also looking for top-tier paddock entry. Some tickets can cost £30,000 for a three-day Grand Prix, but they’re willing to pay.


+° oÜ `o ÞoÕ «ÀoÛi`i Ìhi yiÝiLiliÌÞ ÀiµÕiÀi` voÀ sporting itineraries? This winter, two Ashes tests lasted for only two days instead of five, so I was making calls to secure activities in the unexpected days off. That’s where close relationships with local DMCs are invaluable – because we had an agile team lined up, the solution came seamlessly, at least from the guests’ perspective.


Q. How important is the trade to your business? Our trade partners are key. Those with sport-loving clients see us as experts in the field, so we work closely with them. We run regular training days and keep agents abreast of when tournaments are going on sale.


Steering the Aspire Travel Club Our panel of travel professionals covers the


spectrum of the luxury market and plays a major role in helping Aspire Travel Club evolve


John Sullivan Advantage Travel Partnership


advantagemembers.com


Andrea Stafford AmaWaterways amawaterways.co.uk


Rick Milne Carrier carrier.co.uk


Nicola McNeish Celebrity Cruises celebritycruises.co.uk


Andy Harmer Clia UK & Ireland trade.cruising.org


Pete Brudenell CV Villas cvvillas.com


Amanda Matthews Designer Travel designertravel.co.uk


Tracy Docherty Elegant Resorts and If Only elegantresorts.co.uk ifonly.net


Priti Mehta Explora Journeys explorajourneys.com


Craig Jeffs Kerzner International kerzner.com


Louise Craddock Oceania Cruises oceaniacruises.com


Kate Fenton Tourism New Zealand


newzealand.com/luxury


Lynn Narraway Seabourn seabourn.com


Jeanne Lally Travel Bureau travelb.co.uk


26 ASPIRE MARCH 2026


aspiretravelclub.co.uk


CREDITS: Steve Dunlop; Passionate; Matthew Burch; Mark Miller


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