Tomorrow's Travel Leaders: 30 Under 30: Michael Gilmore

In collaboration with TTG Digital, the ITT and Guoman Hotels, C&M Travel Recruitment set out to discover the 30 most inspiring and dynamic people in the travel industry aged 30 years and younger - the 30 Under 30.

Here we profile Michael Gilmore, director of The Connoisseurs Cruise Club.

Q: What advice do you have for other young people looking to make their mark in the travel industry?

A: "Know your product! If you know everything that you need to know about your product, you'll be more confident in yourself and others will quickly become more confident in you."

Q: Why did you want to get involved in the travel industry?

A: "I didn't! It was purely by chance really - I wasn't enjoying my time at sixth form and after four weeks decided that I'd had enough, so I uploaded my CV onto a recruitment website and was put forward for an interview with Virgin Holidays Cruises.

"Originally, I had no idea what a cruise was, but I was eager to learn and was given some excellent training at Virgin Holidays Cruises, which really helped."

Q: How does it feel to be in the final 30 of Tomorrow's Travel Leaders?

A: "Excellent, it's always nice to receive recognition for any work you do and it's great to have an award focused on the up-and-coming generation."

Q: Were you surprised to be nominated?

A: "Indeed I was, I'd seen the competition on TTG's website and was looking forward to seeing who would be chosen but I never thought I would be involved."