Atlantic Travel and Tour America Crowned Travel Agents of the Year at the Irish Travel Industry Awards in association with The Travel Corporation
Dublin, January 2020 Atlantic Travel and Tour America were crowned ITAA Travel Agencies of the Year 2020 at the annual Irish Travel Industry Awards in association with The Travel Corporation on Thursday evening, 23rd January 2020. The prestigious awards gala took place in the elegant surrounds of the Mansion House, Dublin, and was attended by over 500 travel and tourism professionals from around the world.
Atlantic Travel, who are based in Donegal, won the title of ITAA Travel Agency of Year 2020 with under ten employees, whilst Tour America was crowned the ITAA Travel Agency of Year 2020 with over ten employees. Both of the winning agencies were praised for their stand-out customer service, their first-rate expertise and the wide range of travel options available to customers.
Other big winners on the night included Atlas Travel and FCM who won Best ITAA Corporate Travel Agency, CaminoWays who won Best ITAA Member Digital Marketing Campaign, and J. Barter Travel who won Best ITAA General Marketing Campaign. Siobhan Byrne Learat of Adams & Butler won Best ITAA Travel Professional. Marie Grenham, Managing Director of Grenham Travel was the recipient of the ITAA Presidents’ Award for special contributions to the Irish Travel Industry.
Speaking at the awards, John Spollen, President of the ITAA, said “The awards are an opportunity to celebrate the exceptional professionals working in our industry. 2020 is set to be a fantastic year for the industry, as we all remain focused on our objectives for the coming year. Human beings have an inherent desire to travel and learn more about the world around them, and as travel agents, we facilitate these desires and turn dreams into reality. We take the stress and hassle away from clients and ensure that they receive a high level of service with a personal touch.
I wish to extend my congratulations to all of the winners, especially Atlantic Travel and Tour America Travel who both won the overall titles. The last year has been very positive for the Irish travel trade and this is most definitely attributed to the talented and hardworking individuals in our industry who endeavour to offer quality travel products to Irish holidaymakers.”
The annual event is designed to showcase excellence within the industry and the difficult job of judging the Member Award Winners falls to an independent panel of judges, chaired by Bill Smith. Supplier Award Winners were voted upon by Irish travel agents. This year’s awards welcomed the veteran broadcaster and journalist, Bryan Dobson, as Master of Ceremonies.
The Irish Travel Industry Awards are an initiative of the Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA), in association with The Travel Corporation, and is organised on behalf of the ITAA by Business Exhibitions Limited. Award categories are sponsored by Aer Lingus, AM Resorts, Cork Airport, Emirates, German National Tourist Board, Hertz, Ireland West Airport, Princess Cruises, Riviera Travel, Shannon Airport and The Travel Corporation. The Irish Travel Industry Awards media partner is Independent News & Media.
Full List of Winners at the Irish Travel Industry Awards:
CONTRIBUTION TO THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY AWARD – SPONSORED BY CORK AIRPORT
Marie Grenham – Grehnam Travel
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ITAA MEMBER PEOPLE AWARDS WINNERS – SPONSORED BY PRINCESS CRUISES
BEST ITAA TRAVEL PROFESSIONAL
Siobhán Byrne Learat – PRINCESS CRUISES
BEST ITAA MEMBER DIGITAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN
CAMINO WAYS
BEST ITAA GENERAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN
J BARTER TRAVEL GROUP
ITAA MEMBER AGENCY AWARDS WINNERS – SPONSORED BY AER LINGUS
BEST ITAA NATIONAL CORPORATE TRAVEL AGENCY
ATLAS TRAVEL
BEST ITAA INTERNATIONAL CORPORATE TRAVEL AGENCY
FCM TRAVEL SOLUTIONS
ITAA TRAVEL AGENCY OF THE YEAR – UNDER 10 EMPLOYEES
ATLANTIC TRAVEL
ITAA TRAVEL AGENCY OF THE YEAR – OVER 10 EMPLOYEES
TOUR AMERICA
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SUPPLIER AWARDS WINNERS
AIR TRAVEL CATEGORY – SPONSORED BY DUBLIN AIRPORT
BEST VALUE AIRLINE FROM IRELAND TO EUROPE
AER LINGUS
BEST FULL SERVICE AIRLINE TO EUROPE
TURKISH AIRLINES
BEST AIRLINE DIRECT FROM IRELAND TO NORTH AMERICA
AER LINGUS
BEST LONG HAUL AIRLINE WITH A SERVICE ORIGINATING FROM IRELAND
EMIRATES
TOUR OPERATOR CATEGORY – SPONSORED BY HERTZ
BEST EUROPEAN SUN TOUR OPERATOR
SUNWAY
BEST ESCORTED TOUR OPERATOR
WENDY WU TOURS
BEST SPECIALIST OR LUXURY TOUR OPERATOR
TRAVEL FOCUS
BEST LONG HAUL TOUR OPERATOR
TRAVEL FOCUS
GERMAN NATIONAL TOURIST BOARD
BEST MAIN STREAM CRUISE COMPANY
MSC CRUISES
BEST PREMIUM CRUISE COMPANY
CELEBRITY CRUISES
BEST RIVER CRUISE COMPANY
UNIWORLD RIVER CRUISES
BEST ULTRA LUXURY CRUISE COMPANY
SILVERSEA CRUISES
BEST FERRY COMPANY
IRISH FERRIES
AGENCY SERVICES PROVIDER CATEGORY – SPONSORED BY RIVIERA TRAVEL
BEST TECHNOLOGY PROVIDER
AMADEUS
BEST CAR HIRE PROVIDER
HERTZ
BEST TRAVEL INSURANCE PROVIDER
BLUE INSURANCE
BEST TOURIST BOARD
SPANISH TOURIST BOARD
BEST ACCOMMODATION ONLY PROVIDER
BOOKABED
TRADE SUPPORT TEAM CATEGORY – SPONSORED BY IRELAND WEST AIRPORT
BEST TRADE SUPPORT TEAM – AIRLINE
EMIRATES
BEST TRADE SUPPORT TEAM – CRUISE / RIVER CRUISE
MSC CRUISES
BEST TRADE SUPPORT TEAM – TECHNOLOGY
AMADEUS
BEST TRADE SUPPORT TEAM – TOUR OPERATOR / BEDBANK
BOOKABED
DESTINATIONS CATEGORY – SPONSORED BY BRITISH AIRWAYS
BEST EUROPEAN CITY DESTINATION
BARCELONA
BEST SKI DESTINATION
AUSTRIA
BEST SUMMER DESTINATION
ALGARVE
DESTINATIONS CATEGORY – SPONSORED BY AMERICAN AIRLINES
BEST WINTER DESTINATION
LANZAROTE
BEST WORLDWIDE THEME PARK
UNIVERSAL ORLANDO RESORT
