NEWS SPECIAL REPORT Six leaders to join Hall of Fame


Inductees will take their place among the greats of the travel and hospitality industries at event in April


Six industry leaders are to be inducted into the British Travel & Hospitality Hall of Fame on April 29.


Frank Del Rio, chief executive of


Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, will be honoured alongside the co-owners of AmaWaterways, Kristin Karst and Rudi Schreiner; Bea Tollman, founder of the Red Carnation Hotel Collection; and Gary and Rita Beckwith, founders of City Cruises. The Hall of Fame is owned and hosted by Jacobs Media Group, the


parent company of flagship brands Travel Weekly and The Caterer, and


Frank Del Rio


Born in Havana before emigrating to the US aged six in 1961, Frank Del Rio is president and chief executive of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, the parent company of Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. Del Rio founded Oceania Cruises in 2002 with a vision to create an “upper premium” cruise experience. He became chairman and chief executive of Prestige Cruise Holdings, parent of Oceania and Regent, which was acquired by NCL Holdings in 2014. Under his stewardship of NCL Holdings, five ships have been added, taking the fleet to 26, with eight more due by 2028.


Gary & Rita Beckwith


Gary and Rita Beckwith founded City Cruises in 1989, but their river business dates back to 1976 when Gary bought a fuel barge that served as a filling station for boat operators. Rita joined him in that business in 1982. City Cruises now operates a fleet of 20 entertainment and charter vessels, sightseeing boats and high-speed ribs in London. It expanded into Poole in 2014 and York in 2017. Gary is a board member of the European Tourism Association and patron of charity Whoosh! Rita has been a chairwoman of the Docklands Business Club and UKinbound, and served on the board of Visit Greenwich.


In addition to recognising those


its annual dinner is held at The Dorchester hotel in London. It recognises the highest


achievers in the travel, hospitality, tourism and leisure sectors, honouring those who have achieved business success while inspiring and shaping the wider industry.


Bea Tollman


South African-born Bea Tollman is president and founder of the Red Carnation Hotel Collection. She made her first foray


into the hotel industry with her husband Stanley Tollman, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015. They operated up to seven hotels in South Africa, including Tollman Towers, the country’s first five-star hotel. The couple relocated to London in 1975, then moved to the US where they bought hotels from Days Inn, before returning to the UK in 1984 when they bought The Chesterfield in Mayfair, the first Red Carnation Hotel. The luxury hotel collection now features 17 properties.


with a track record of success, the Hall of Fame celebrates rising talent with awards for young managers and entrepreneurs. Further awards recognise business excellence and commitment to sustainability. Clive Jacobs, chairman of Jacobs Media Group, said: “We will be welcoming six worthy members to the Hall of Fame. Membership is the ultimate benchmark of achievement, and our 2019 inductees have each represented those industries with distinction over many years.”


Rudi Schreiner & Kristin Karst


Rudi Schreiner set up AmaWaterways with wife Kristin Karst and the late Jimmy Murphy in 2002. Rudi designed his first


‘ship’ in 1975, to take him on a journey on the Amazon. Soon after, he began working in travel, devising tours of Europe. When the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal was built in 1992, he saw an opportunity and created tours in 13 countries. Kristin previously worked


for an East German state-run travel agency, before joining a river cruise company in the US in 2000. AmaWaterways now operates more than 20 river ships in Europe, southeast Asia and Africa.


12travelweekly.co.uk14 February 2019


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