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

 

**********************************

 

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

 

 

**********************************

 

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