2020 Results

Winners and runners-up in the 2020 Group Travel Awards

Best Airline for Groups

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

Sponsor: Travelsphere

Best European Destination for Groups

Winner: Austria
Runner-up: Switzerland
Belgium
Berlin
Croatia
Ireland
Jersey

Sponsor: Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines

Best Ocean Cruise Line Operator for Groups

Winner: Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines
Runner-up: Cruise & Maritime Voyages
Emerald Waterways
Hurtigruten
P&O Cruises

Sponsor: Travel Editions Group Travel

Best Information Product for Groups

Winner: www.traveleditions.co.uk
Runner-up: Leeds Castle Brochure
English Heritage Group Visits Guide 2019/20
Groups Direct Brochure
Windsor Great Park The Savill Garden; Group Visits Guide
www.silvertraveladvisor.com
www.successtours.com

Best Group Dining Experience

Winner: Planet Hollywood
Runner-up: Hard Rock Café London
Bateaux London
Bodelwyddan Castle Hotel
Faulty Towers: The Dining Experience
Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines
Wetherspoons

Best Coach Operator for Groups

Winner (Small): Dunwood Travel
Winner (Large): Edwards Coaches
Runner-up (Small): David Urquhart Travel
Runner-up (Large): Lucketts Travel
Alfa Travel Coach Holidays
Bakers Dolphin
Chalkwell Coaches
Daish’s Holidays
Harry Shaw
InterChoice Holidays
Kirby’s Coaches
Shearings Holidays

Sponsor: Disneyland Paris (Large Coach Operator) Eurotunnel Le Shuttle (Small Coach Operator)

Best Animal or Sea Life Attraction for Groups

Winner: West Midland Safari & Leisure Park
Runner-up: Longleat
Hawk Conservancy Trust
SEA LIFE London Aquarium
The Deep
ZSL London Zoo

Sponsor: Discover Animals

Best Sea Crossing Operator for Groups

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

Sponsor: University of Kent

Best Group Tour Operator

Winner: IOW Tours
Runner-up: Airedale Tours
Daish’s Holidays
Greatdays Travel Group
Riviera Travel
Shearings Holidays
Success Tours
Travel Editions
Travelsphere
just for groups!

Best Holiday Park for Groups

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

Sponsor: Isle of Wight Tours

Best Family Day Out

Winner: Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter
Runner-up: Legoland Windsor
Beamish; the Living Museum of the North
Cadbury World
Hever Castle
Longleat
Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
The Royal Mint Experience

Best European Attraction for Groups

Winner: Disneyland Paris, France
Runner-up: Cologne Cathedral, Germany
Efteling, Netherlands
Guinness Storehouse, Ireland
Titanic Belfast, Northern Ireland

Best Individual Hotel for Groups

Winner: Rendezvouz Hotel, Skipton
Runner-up: St Kilda Hotel, Llandudno
Littlecote House (Warner Leisure Hotels)
Queens Hotel, Eastbourne (Leisureplex)
Shanklin Hotel, Isle of Wight (Leisureplex)
The Prince Regent, Weymouth (Daish’s)

Best Group Ticketing Agency

Winner: Group Line
Runner-up: Encore
Delfont Mackintosh Theatres
Groups Direct
See Groups
Ticketmaster

Sponsor: Planet Hollywood

Best Event for Groups

Winner: Kynren – an epic tale of England
Runner-up: RHS Garden Wisley Flower Show
Christmas at Kew
Royal Ascot
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
Thursford Christmas Spectacular

Sponsor: Eurostar

Best Canal or Riverboat Operator for Groups

Winner: French Brothers
Runner-up: City Cruises
Canterbury Historic River Tours
CroisiEurope Cruises
River Cruise Line
Stuart Line Cruises
Thames Clippers
Windermere Lake Cruises

Sponsor: GO Travel Show

Best Rail Operator for Groups

Winner: GWR
Runner-up: Avanti West Coast
Eurostar
LNER
South West Trains

Sponsor: Warner Bros Studio Tour; The Making of Harry Potter

Best Company or Venue Offering Guided Tours

Winner: Houses of Parliament
Runner-up: Shakespeare’s Globe
BBC Tours
Canterbury Guided Tours
Emmerdale Village Tour
Groups Direct
MINI Plant Oxford (BMW Group)
Royal Opera House
The Original Tour

Sponsor: UKinbound

Best West End Production

Winner: Les Misérables
Runner-up: Tina: The Tina Turner Musical
9 to 5: The Musical
Come from Away
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
Matilda
The Lion King

Sponsor: Group Line

Best University Accommodation for Groups

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

Best Historic House and/or Garden for Groups

Winner: The Savill Garden
Runner-up: Blenheim Palace
Buckingham Palace
Hampton Court Palace
Leeds Castle
RHS Garden Wisley
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
The Eden Project
Waddesdon Manor
Woburn Abbey

Sponsor: LNER

Most Group Friendly Hotel Chain or Group

Winner: Daish’s Holidays
Runner-up: Warner Leisure Hotels
Abacus Hotels
Holdsworth Hotels
Ibis Hotels
Jurys Inn
Premier Inn

Best Attraction for Group Visits – London

Winner: Royal Museums Greenwich
Runner-up: Tower of London
BODY WORLDS London
Buckingham Palace
Houses of Parliament
Jeff Wayne’s The War of The Worlds: The Immersive Experience
Royal Albert Hall
Shakespeare’s Globe
Southbank Centre
The View from The Shard

Sponsor: Wendy Wu Tours

Best Attraction for Group Visits – Outside London

Winner: Windsor Castle
Runner-up: Ironbridge Gorge Museums
Beaulieu
Blenheim Palace
Bletchley Park
Bombay Sapphire Distillery
National Memorial Arboretum
Shakespeare’s Birthplace Trust
The Eden Project

Sponsor: The View from The Shard

Best UK Destination for Groups

Winner: Isle of Wight
Runner-up: Canterbury
Bristol
Greenwich
Kent
London
Stoke-on-Trent
York

Sponsor: Daish’s Holidays

Special award winners…

Innovation in Tourism

Winner: Invisible Cities

Sponsor: GTO Magazine

Little Treasures of Britain Award

Winner: Talliston House and Gardens

Sponsor: Britain’s Delightful Towns

Technological Innovation Award

Winner: The Hastings Contemporary

Outstanding Contribution to Group Travel by an Individual Award

Winner: Harold Burke