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 Office, 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 – GRENHAM TRAVEL

ITAA MEMBER PEOPLE AWARDS WINNERS

– SPONSORED BY PRINCESS CRUISES

BEST ITAA TRAVEL PROFESSIONAL

SIOBHAN BYRNE LEARAT

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

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

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

CRUISE & FERRY CATEGORY

– SPONSORED BY THE GERMAN NATIONAL TOURIST OFFICE

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 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