SANDALS RESORTS WINS BIG AT TOP TRAVEL AWARDS

It is viewed by many as the Emmys of the Travel Industry, and this week Sandals Resorts International swept the Travel Trade Gazette Awards 2018 held at the Lyceum Theatre in London’s Covent Garden.

Sandals held off competition from the world’s leading travel industry bodies such as Thomas Cook, Jet2Holidays, Royal Caribbean International, Beachcomber Tours and Celebrity Cruises, and walked away with the three top prizes on offer including the coveted Travel Company of the Year Award.

Sandals Resorts also scooped awards for ‘Hotel and Resort Operator of the Year’ and ‘On the Road Hero’, which was awarded to Business Development Manager, Neil Read for his outstanding contribution to the Sandals Resorts’ sales team.

In the “Hotel and Resort Operator Award’ category Sandals beat back companies such as Elegant Hotels Group, Hard Rock Hotels – All Inclusive Collection, Palladium Hotel Group, Secrets Resorts & Spas and Warner Leisure Hotels to take the top prize.

It adds to the long list of accolades which have recognised Sandals Resorts as being the very best in the tourism and hospitality industry. Not only has Sandals been voted World’s Best All Inclusive Company at the World Travel Awards for 23 consecutive years, the resort chain copped the award for ‘Best AllInclusive Resort Operator’ in January 2018 at the Travel Weekly Globe Awards; it’s 10th win in this category.
This means that the UK’s top two travel trade publications have now nominated Sandals Resorts as their number one.

The TTG Travel Awards aims to celebrate success by showcasing the highest standards within the UK travel trade industry. The awards themselves are widely regarded as being some of the toughest in the business to win, while the annual TTG Awards ceremony itself is one of the most highly anticipated each year. The majority of all categories are voted for by travel agents and the travel trade, whilst The Travel Company of the Year Award is judged by a specialist panel of senior team members from the TTG Media publishing house, along with other travel industry professionals.

Karl Thompson, Managing Director of Sandals Resorts, UK & Europe, says, “We are absolutely delighted to receive all three awards at this year’s TTG Travel Awards – particularly Travel Company of the Year, which is an incredible achievement for the Sandals Resorts brand and for every member of our fantastic team. We are also extremely grateful to all the agents who also took the time to vote for us in the Hotel & Resort Operator of the Year category, as we couldn’t have done it without the support of the trade.”
This year’s deserving winners were presented with their trophies by TTG’s own Group Editor, Pippa Jacks and Managing Director, Daniel Pearce, alongside celebrity comedian Alan Carr.