2019 Results

Winners and runners-up in the 2019 Group Travel Awards

Best Airline for Groups

Winner: Jet2.com
Runner-up: British Airways
easyJet
Flybe
KLM
Virgin Atlantic

Best European Destination for Groups

Winner: Ireland
Runner-up: Germany
Belgium
Brussels
Cyprus
Prague
Switzerland

Best Ocean Cruise Line Operator for Groups

Winner: Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines
Runner-up: Cruise & Maritime Voyages
Emerald Waterways
Norwegian Cruise Line
P&O Cruises
Voyages to Antiquity

Best Information Product for Groups

Winner: City & Village Tours Brochure 2019
Runner-up: greatdays.co.uk
Delfont Mackintosh Theatres Groups Guide
English Heritage Group Visits Guide 2018/2019
Leeds Castle Group & Travel Trade Guide 2019/2020
The National Trust Groups Guide 2018
justforgroups.com

Best Group Dining Experience

Winner: Bateaux London
Runner-up: Planet Hollywood
Blenheim Palace
Faulty Towers; The Dining Experience
Frankie & Bennie’s
SS Great Britain
The Medieval Banquet

Best Coach Operator for Groups

Winner (Large): Lucketts Travel
Winner (Small): Eastons Holidays
Runner-up (Large): Edwards Coaches
Runner-up (Small): Dunwood Travel
Bakers Dolphin
Daish’s Holidays
David Ogden Holidays
Harry Shaw
Kirby’s Coaches
Shearings
Solus Coaches

Best Animal or Sea Life Attraction for Groups

Winner: West Midland Safari & Leisure Park
Runner-up: ZSL London Zoo
Longleat
Monkey World
Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve & Leisure Park
SEA LIFE London Aquarium
Woburn Safari Park

Best Sea Crossing Operator for Groups

Winner: P&O Ferries
Runner-up: DFDS
Condor Ferries
Eurostar
Eurotunnel
Wightlink

Best Group Tour Operator

Winner: IOW Tours
Runner-up: Greatdays Travel Group
Runner-up: Travelsphere
Airedale Tours
Daish’s Holidays
Just for Groups!
Riviera Travel
Simply Groups
South Quay Travel
Travel Editions

Best Holiday Park for Groups

Winner: Potters Resort, Hopton, Norfolk
Runner-up: Norton Grange Coastal Village, Isle of Wight (Warner Leisure Hotels)
Devon Cliffs, Exmouth (Haven)
Lower Hyde Holiday Park, Isle of Wight (Parkdean Resorts)
Mill Rythe Holiday Village, Hayling Island (Away Resorts)

Best Family Day Out

Winner: Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter
Runner-up: Natural History Museum
Beaulieu
Burghley House
Drayton Manor Theme Park
Legoland Windsor Resort
Longleat

Best European Attraction for Groups

Winner: Disneyland Paris
Runner-up: Guinness Storehouse, Ireland
Cologne Cathedral, Germany
Keukenhof Gardens, Netherlands
Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris
Titanic Belfast, Northern Ireland

Best Individual Hotel for Groups

Winner: St Kilda Hotel, Llandudno
Runner-up: Rendezvous Hotel, Skipton
Claremont Hotel, Eastbourne (Daish’s)
Constantinou Bros Athena
Beach Hotel, Paphos
Daish’s Hotel, Isle of Wight
The Strand Palace Hotel, London
Thoresby Hall Hotel, Ollerton (Warner Leisure Hotels)
Yarn Market Hotel, Dunster

Best Group Ticketing Agency

Winner: Group Line
Runner-up: Encore Tickets
Delfont Macintosh Theatres
Groups Direct
See Groups
Ticket Factory
Ticketline
Ticketmaster

Best Event for Groups

Winner: Thursford Christmas Spectacular
Runner-up: Christmas at Kew
Classical Spectacular – Royal Albert Hall
Edinburgh Tattoo
John Rutter’s Christmas Celebration – Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Longleat’s Festival of Light
RHS Hampton Court Flower Show
Royal Ascot

Best Canal or Riverboat Operator for Groups

Winner: River Cruise Line
Runner-up: City Cruises
Canterbury Historic River Tours
CroisiEurope Cruises
French Brothers
MBNA Thames Clippers
Thames River Services

Best Rail Operator for Groups

Winner: Eurostar
Runner-up: GWR
CrossCountry
LNER
South West Trains
Virgin Trains

Best Company or Venue Offering Guided Tours

Winner: Houses of Parliament
Runner-up: City & Village Tours
BBC Tours
Canterbury Guided Tours
Emmerdale Village Tour
Groups Direct
Royal Albert Hall
Shakespeare’s Globe
The Original Tour

Best West End Production

Winner: Tina: The Tina Turner Musical
Runner-up: The Lion King
42nd Street
Aladdin
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
Les Misérables
Mamma Mia!
Wicked

Best University Accommodation for Groups

Winner: University Of Kent, Canterbury
Runner-up: Cardiff University
Imperial College London
St Aidan’s College at Durham University
University of Portsmouth
York Conferences at The University of York

Best Historic House and/or Garden for Groups

Winner: RHS Garden Wisley
Runner-up: Osborne House
Blenheim Palace
Buckingham Palace
Chatsworth House
Hampton Court Palace
Hever Castle
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
The Savill Garden

Most Group Friendly Hotel Chain or Group

Winner: Daish’s Hotel Group
Runner-up: Warner Leisure Hotels
Abacus Hotels
GLH Hotels
Jurys Inn
Leisureplex Hotels
TLH Leisure Resort

Best Attraction for Group Visits – London

Winner: Buckingham Palace
Runner-up: The View from The Shard
BODY WORLDS London
Churchill War Rooms
Coca-Cola London Eye
Cutty Sark
Houses of Parliament
Royal Albert Hall
Tower of London

Best Attraction for Group Visits

Winner: The Beatles Story
Runner-up: Bletchley Park
Aerospace Bristol
Brighton i360
Leighton Hall
Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
Shakespeare’s Birthplace Trust
Waddesdon Manor

Best UK Destination for Groups

Winner: Kent
Runner-up: Bristol
Bournemouth
Canterbury
Isle of Wight
Liverpool
London
Manchester

Special award winners…

Innovation in Tourism

BODY WORLDS London

Little Treasures of Britain Award

Boscombe Down Aviation Collection

Development of Incoming Group Visitors to the UK Award

Great West Way – Discover England Fund Project

Technological Innovation Award

Hurtigruten

Outstanding Contribution to Group Travel by an Individual Award

Lesley Terrell