Manning Travel and Tour America Crowned Travel Agents of the Year
Manning Travel and Tour America were crowned ITAA Travel Agencies of the Year 2018 at the annual Irish Travel Industry Awards in association with Aer Lingus last Thursday, 25th January. 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.
Manning Travel, from Kilkenny, won the title of ITAA Travel Agency of Year 2018 with under ten employees, whilst Tour America was crowned the ITAA Travel Agency of Year 2018 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 HRG Ireland who won Best ITAA Corporate Travel Agency, 
Cassidy Travel who won Best ITAA Member Bricks & Mortar Marketing Campaign, Click & Go who won Best ITAA Member Digital Marketing Campaign and Grenham Travel who won Best ITAA General Marketing Campaign.
The award for Best ITAA Corporate Travel Professional went to Louise Dunne and Karen Ray, who job share in The Travel Broker, and the award for Best ITAA Leisure Travel Professional went to Joanna Gomez in Travel Focus. George Barter, of J. Barter Travel in Cork, was this year’s recipient of the ‘Special Contribution to the Irish Travel Industry Award’.
Speaking at the awards, Cormac Meehan, President of the ITAA, said “Tonight we celebrate the exceptional professionals working in our industry. I wish to extend my congratulations to all of the winners, especially Manning Travel and Tour America who both deservedly won overall titles. 2017 was a very positive year for the Irish travel trade and this is down 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 Master of Ceremonies was none other than the charming presenter and broadcaster, Miriam O’Callaghan
The Irish Travel Industry Awards are an initiative of the Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA), in association with Aer Lingus, and supported by Travelsavers, Travelcentres and Worldchoice. The event is organised on behalf of the ITAA by Business Exhibitions Limited. Award categories are sponsored by Amadeus, American Airlines, British Airways, Cork Airport, Dublin Airport, Hertz, Ireland West Airport Knock, PortAventura, Riveria Travel and Turkish Airlines. The event is also sponsored by Emirates, Independent News & Media, Shannon Airport and The Travel Corporation.
Full List of Winners at the Irish Travel Industry Awards:
CONTRIBUTION TO THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY AWARD – SPONSORED BY CORK AIRPORT
George Barter – J. Barter Travel
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ITAA MEMBER PEOPLE AWARDS WINNERS – SPONSORED BY PORTAVENTURA
BEST ITAA LEISURE TRAVEL PROFESSIONAL
Joanna Gomez – Travel Focus
BEST ITAA CORPORATE TRAVEL PROFESSIONAL
Louise Dunne & Karen Ray (Job Share) – The Travel Broker
BEST ITAA MEMBER BRICKS & MORTAR MARKETING CAMPAIGN
Cassidy Travel
BEST ITAA MEMBER DIGITAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN
Click & Go
BEST ITAA GENERAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN
Grenham Travel
ITAA MEMBER AGENCY AWARDS WINNERS – SPONSORED BY AMADEUS
BEST ITAA CORPORATE TRAVEL AGENCY
HRG Ireland
ITAA TRAVEL AGENCY OF THE YEAR – UNDER 10 EMPLOYEES
Manning 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 AIRLINE TO EUROPE
Aer Lingus
BEST BUSINESS CLASS AIRLINE TO EUROPE
Turkish Airlines
BEST AIRLINE TO NORTH AMERICA
Aer Lingus
BEST LONG HAUL AIRLINE
Emirates
TOUR OPERATOR CATEGORY – SPONSORED BY HERTZ
BEST EUROPEAN SUN TOUR OPERATOR
Sunway
BEST ESCORTED TOUR OPERATOR
Wendy Wu Tours
BEST SPECIALIST TOUR OPERATOR
G Adventures
BEST LONG HAUL TOUR OPERATOR
Classic Resorts
CRUISE & FERRY CATEGORY – SPONSORED BY TURKISH AIRLINES
BEST MAIN STREAM CRUISE COMPANY
MSC Cruises
BEST PREMIUM CRUISE COMPANY
Celebrity Cruises
BEST SPECIALIST CRUISE COMPANY (INCLUDING RIVER)
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 COMPANY
Hertz
BEST TRAVEL INSURANCE PROVIDER
Blue Insurance
BEST TOURIST BOARD
Spanish Tourist Board
BEST ACCOMMODATION ONLY PROVIDER
Bookabed
SUPPLIER STAFF / TRAAVEL MEDIA CATEGORY – SPONSORED BY IRELAND WEST AIRPORT
BEST SUPPLIER SUPPORT TEAM
MSC Cruises
BEST SUPPLIER REPRESENTATIVE
Rebecca Kelly – MSC Cruises
BEST TRAVEL MEDIA AWARD
TravelBiz
DESTINATIONS CATEGORY – SPONSORED BY BRITISH AIRWAYS AND AMERICAN AIRLINES
BEST WORLDWIDE CITY DESTINATION
New York
BEST EUROPEAN CITY DESTINATION
Barcelona
BEST SUMMER DESTINATION
Portugal
BEST WINTER DESTINATION
Lanzarote
BEST WORLDWIDE THEME PARK
Universal Orlando Resort
