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2014 NI TRAVEL AWARDS
ANEW TRAVEL AWARD AND
Votes and a judging panel will pick top agency or home worker
N EXCITING new award for travel consultants, whether office or home-based, and a new category sponsor for the Northern Ireland Travel and Tourism Awards are unveiled today at the launch of the 2014 Awards in an eclectic new venue, The Dark Horse in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter.
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A leading world name in cruising, Celebrity Cruises, is the new sponsor of Category 6 at the Awards gala which covers the Best Travel Trade Internet Booking System. Best Trade Representative/Manager, Best Sales Support Team, the NI Travel Industry Award 2014 and the Travel and Tourism Industry Roll of Honour.
Celebrity's Major Account Manager in Ireland/Northern Ireland Tyrphavana Cross, who will be on stage at this year's Awards on Friday, October 17 at the Slieve Donard Hotel to make the presentations, commented: "We at Celebrity Cruises are delighted to be one of the category sponsors at this year's Awards. The Awards gala is the highlight of the year for many in the Travel Industry in the Province and we are pleased with this opportunity to support the Trade and get involved in such a prestigious occasion. We anticipate another wonderful evening of celebrating achievement and rewarding excellence." And there's great news for travel consultants who deal with customers and suppliers on a daily basis in agencies up and down the Province, and for the increasing number of home workers - this year will see the introduction of a new individual Award to the Best Travel Consultant.
Open to all travel consultants, employees of independent agents and multiples alike, and home workers, the Award will be voted for both by the Travelling Public and Principals in the travel industry.
The public will be able to vote through Northern Ireland Travel News, and the website
nitravelnews.com while the new award will be promoted through the paper's public e- zines and social media. Principals of travel companies, whether tour operators, cruise and ferry companies, airlines - indeed all companies whose products are sold through agents, will also be able to have their say.
Travel Consultants
When the eventual votes are counted, the five finalists - the travel consultants with the most votes - will then be assessed by a panel of judges drawn from the industry, to decide the actual winner.
Said Jonathan Adair of Northern Ireland Travel News, organisers of the Northern Ireland Travel and Tourism
Awards: "We have always had of course an award for the Travel Agency of the Year, and one for the best Multiple shop in recent years, but nothing until now to recognise the travel consultant in the front line - the person who deals with the customer and liaises with the service provider whether that be a tour operator, airline, accommodation provider or ferry company.
"There is still a high percentage of the travelling public in Northern Ireland who book their holidays, short breaks or just point to point travel with their local travel consultant in an agency, or indeed with a home worker. This Award will for the first time recognise the service they provide, a service which often leads to repeat business maybe several times a year."
He said that members of the travelling public and travel company principals would initially be given the chance to vote. The five top travel consultants on votes cast would then be invited to an assessment before a judging panel in the weeks prior to the Awards.
"The winner will then be revealed on stage at the Awards on October 17 - the 23rd annual Awards ceremony - held as usual at the Slieve Donard Resort and Spa," added Jonathan.
Postive Response
Changes to the cruise awards in 2013 brought a positive response in voting and competition among the different cruise lines. The addition of an award for the Best Specialist Cruise Company gave some of the smaller, specialist, perhaps more niche-market lines a chance to be up on stage, while a new award for the Best Short Breaks Operator last year attracted keen interest, particularly as surveys show that many families take up to three short breaks a year as well as their annual holiday.
Other Awards which attract an especially razor-edged level of competition include those for the Best Package Tour Operator, Travel Trade Representative/Manager of the Year and Best Sales Support Team.
In the local tourism section of the Awards, there will be keen competition for the person or the event which has made what is adjudged to be the Outstanding Contribution to Northern Ireland's burgeoning tourism industry. This award was introduced in 2013 and with another year of increasing visitor numbers and big events attracting worldwide attention - look no further than the Giro a fortnight ago - the Province's tourism product goes from strength to strength.
Continued on Page 33
Peter Friedrich of Travelcube, right, a category sponsor at the Northern Ireland Travel and Tourism Awards with from left, Sarah Cunningham from Dunlop Travel, Ken Harrower, Flybe and Julie Anne Vaughan, of Oasis Travel, winner of the World Crystal Globe for the Northern Ireland Travel Agent of the Year in 2013
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