2016 Results

Winners and runners-up in the Group Travel Awards 2016

Best UK Destination for Groups

Winner: London
Runner Up: York
Bournemouth
Isle of Wight
Kent
Liverpool
Llandudno
Torquay

Best Event for Groups

Winner: BBC Good Food Shows
Runner Up: The Thursford Christmas Spectacular
Christmas at Kew
John Rutter’s Christmas Celebration – Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Ascot
Southport Flower Show
The Royal International Air Tattoo, Fairford
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo

Best Canal or Riverboat Operator for Groups

Winner: French Brothers, Windsor
Runner Up: The River Cruise Line
City Cruises, London
CroisiEurope
Princess River Cruises, Nottingham
Sabrina Boat, Shrewsbury
Stuart Line Cruises, Exmouth
Wey & Arun Canal Trust, Surrey

Best Sea Crossing Operator for Groups

Winner: P&O Ferries
Runner Up: Eurotunnel
Britanny Ferries
DFDS Seaways
Eurostar
Red Funnel
Stena Line
Wightlink, Isle of Wight Ferries

Best Ocean Cruise Line Operator for Groups

Winner: Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines
Runner Up: Cruise & Maritime Voyages
Celebrity Cruise Lines
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL)
P&O Cruises
Royal Caribbean
Saga

Best Coach Operator for Groups
Large Fleet

Winner: Lucketts Travel, Fareham
Runner Up: Edwards Coaches, Pontypridd

Small Fleet

Winner: Epsom Coaches, Surrey
Runner Up: Brookline Coaches, Kent

Bakers Dolphin, Weston-super-Mare
Banstead Coaches, Surrey
Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company, East Sussex
Chiltern Travel, Ilford
Daish’s Holidays, Torquay
David Ogden Holidays, St Helens
Johnsons, Henley-in-Arden
Platinum Express, Wolverhampton
Rambler Coaches, St. Leonards
Shearing Holidays, Wigan
Truemans Coaches – Ash Vale
Wilfreda Beehive, Doncaster

Best Airline for Groups

Winner: Virgin Atlantic
Runner Up: Jet2
Aer Lingus
British Airways
easyjet
flybe
KLM
Ryanair

Best Railway Operator for Groups

Winner: Virgin Trains
Runner Up: South West Trains
East Midlands Trains
Eurostar
Southeastern
Southern
Thameslink

Best Shopping Venue or Destination for Groups

Winner: Bristol
Runner Up: Westfield Stratford City, London
Bluewater Shopping Centre, Kent
Boundary Mill Stores
Cardiff
London
Portsmouth
The Trafford Centre, Manchester

Best Group Dining Experience

Winner: Planet Hollywood, London
Runner Up: Rainforest Cafe, London
Bateaux London
Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire
Brick Lane Music Hall, London
Frankie & Bennie’s
Garfunkels
Medieval Banquet, London

Best Company or Venue Offering Guided Tours

Winner: City & Village Tours
Runner Up: Jaguar Land Rover Factory Tours
BBC Tours
Big Bus Tours
Buckingham Palace, London
The Historic Dockyard Chatham
The Houses of Parliament, London
The Tower of London

Best Information Product for Groups (website or printed)

Winner: National Trust Groups Guide 2015
Runner Up: www.visitkent.co.uk
English Heritage Group Visits Guide 2015/16
www.airedaletours.co.uk
www.brightwaterholidays.com
www.greatdays.co.uk
www.visitlancashire.com
www.visitwiltshire.co.uk

Best West End Production for Groups

Winner: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Runner Up: Les Misérables
Jersey Boys
Lion King
Matilda
Sunny Afternoon
The Phantom of the Opera
War Horse
Wicked

Best Best Group Ticketing Agency

Winner: Encore Tickets
Runner Up: Group Line
Delfont Mackintosh Theatres Groups
SEE Groups
The Ticket Factory
Ticketmaster

Most Group-Friendly Hotel Chain or Group

Winner: Warner Leisure Hotels
Runner Up: Abacus Hotels
Best Western
Daish’s Hotel Group
Kings Hotels
Lochs and Glen
Radisson Blu
TLH Leisure Resort

Best Individual Hotel for Groups

Winner: St Kilda Hotel, Llandudno
Runner Up: The Rendezvous Hotel, Skipton
Cricket St. Thomas Hotel, Somerset (Warner Leisure Hotels)
Daish’s Hotel, Isle of Wight
Orton Hall Hotel and Spa (Abacus Hotels)
Preston Sands Hotel, Paignton
The Strand Palace Hotel, London
Victoria, Torquay (TLH Leisure Resort)

Best Holiday Park for Groups

Winner: Potters Resort, Norfolk
Runner Up: Mill Rythe Holiday Village, Hayling Island (Away Resorts)
Butlins Minehead, Somerset
Center Parcs, Elveden Forest
Hopton Holiday Village – Norfolk (Haven)
Looe Bay Holiday Park (Parkdean)
Norton Grange, Isle of Wight (Warner Leisure Hotels)
Shorefield Country Park (Shorefield Holidays)

Best University Accommodation for Groups

Winner: University of Kent, Canterbury
Runner Up: St Aidan’s College at Durham University
Cardiff University
University of Exeter
University of Leicester
University of Portsmouth
York Conferences at The University of York

Best Group Tour Operator

Winner: Airedale Tours, West Yorkshire
Runner Up: InterChoice Holidays, Wolverhampton
Diamond Holidays, Market Harborough
Dunwood Travel, Dudley
IOW Tours
Just for Groups, Norwich
Norman Allen Group Travel, Hereford
Success Tours, Wiltshire
Travelsphere, Leicestershire

Best European Attraction for Groups

Winner: Disneyland Paris, France
Runner Up: Guinness Storehouse, Ireland
Imhoff-Schokoladenmuseum, Germany
Keukenhof Gardens, Holland
Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris
Titanic Belfast, Northern Ireland

Best European Destination for Groups

Winner: Belgium
Runner Up: Austria
Amsterdam
Barcelona
Germany
Ireland
Jersey
Malta

Best Animal or Sealife Attraction for Groups

Winner: West Midland Safari & Leisure Park, Worcestershire
Runner Up: Howletts Wild Animal Park, Kent
Africa Alive, Suffolk
Chester Zoo, Cheshire
Longleat Safari & Adventure Park, Wiltshire
Marwell Zoo, Hampshire
The Deep, Yorkshire
The Donkey Sanctuary, Devon
ZSL London Zoo

Best Historical House and/or Garden for Groups

Winner: Hampton Court Palace, Surrey
Runner Up: Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire
Buckingham Palace, London
Chatsworth House, Derbyshire
Highclere Castle, Hampshire
Longleat House, Wiltshire
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Surrey
The Savill Garden, Windsor
Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire

Best Family Day Out

Winner: Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter
Runner Up: Chessington World of Adventures Resort, Surrey
Beaulieu, Hampshire
Cadbury World, Birmingham
Drayton Manor Theme Park, Tamworth
Knebworth House, Hertfordshire
Legoland Resort, Windsor
Thorpe Park Resort, Surrey
West Midland Safari & Leisure Park, Worcestershire

Best Attraction for Group Visits

Winner: Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes
Runner Up: Ripley’s Believe It or Not! London
Beamish Open Air Museum, County Durham
Coca Cola London Eye
Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
RAF Museum, London
The ArcelorMittal Orbit, London
The London Bridge Experience
The View from The Shard, London

Outstanding Contribution to Group Travel by an Individual

Sue Day

The Editor’s Award for Innovation in Tourism

Groups Direct

The Little Treasures of Britain Award

Museum of Carpet, Kidderminster

The Development of Incoming Group Visitors to the UK

Alex Jacobs