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It has been named: UK Tour Operator of the Year 2015 in the UKinbound Awards for Excellence; Scotland's Heritage International Tour Operator of the Year 2016, by the partners in Scotland's Heritage and “Incoming Group Wholesaler of the Year” by Accorhotels UK at its recent Annual Group Leisure Awards Evening, beating eight other short-listed wholesalers to the top spot.
UKInbound is one of the leading trade associations in the UK tourism sector and its awards are determined by the votes of its members who represent a broad cross section of the inbound industry. JacTravel won the same award for 2011 and 2013 and was a runner up in 2012. The accolade came just days after the award from Accorhotels, which JacTravel won previously for 2013 and 2014. Scotland's Heritage is the partnership of 25 businesses with over 800 attractions around Scotland that come together to represent the sector.
Iain Limond, Vice President – Groups, JacTravel said: “I am thrilled we have surpassed the success of 2013 and have done the triple. The UKInbound award bears testimony to the fantastic work the entire team has put into 2015 and the solid relationships we have with the 352 members of UKInbound who vote for the winner”.
Scotland's Heritage Co-ordinator, Liz Young, said: “There was a strong short list and you won! Well done!”
The Accorhotels award was based on the votes of over 200 Accorhotels managerial staff, responsible for its seven principal brands ranging from Ibis, Ibis Budget, Ibis Style, Mercure and Novotel to Pullman and Sofitel.
Andrew Guthrie, Director of Customer Delivery and Contracting, JacTravel Groups Division, said: “Our contracting team is delighted to have been recognised in this way by Accorhotels. It reflects an excellent relationship between the central sales team at Accorhotels, JacTravel’s group buying team and certain hotel partners. These relationships have been built up over the years and they add value for both parties. I look forward to further strengthening our relationship with Accorhotels so that we can win similar accolades from the company as we build our product portfolio beyond the UK into Europe.” In 2015, JacTravel placed business worth nearly £2m in approximately 40 Accorhotels properties in the UK.
JacTravel’s CEO, Terry Williamson concluded: “At times when hotels are relatively empty and really need business, JacTravel delivers substantial numbers of additional paying customers. Where we have strong relationships, and JacTravel needs rooms, certain properties will keep a guaranteed allocation open for JacTravel’s clients. It’s a genuine win-win partnership. I am particularly pleased by the UKInbound award because the organisation is doing excellent work and its membership includes all the key players involved in tourism to the UK. ”
In 2015 JacTravel posted yet another year of strong organic growth and it integrated its business with TotalStay, taking overall turnover past £350m for the first time in its history.
Company information:
Established in 1975, JacTravel is one of the world’s leading suppliers of hotel accommodation for the global travel industry and provider of specialist inbound travel services to the UK and Ireland. With headquarters in London, regional offices throughout the UK, Europe, Asia, the Middle-East and North America and worldwide representation, our team of over 500 travel professionals is well placed to serve over 20,000 clients globally. This is facilitated by a directly contracted inventory of more than 12,000 hotels and, an additional aggregated portfolio of over 100,000 properties and an extensive range of preferred group tour suppliers.
A multiple award winning business-to-business specialist, JacTravel operates a number of distinct but complementary divisions:
- Global wholesale accommodation solution available through a simple API connection
- Worldwide travel agent booking website through Totalstay
- Specialist inbound group travel services to the UK, Ireland and key European destinations
For more information about JacTravel, please contact David Tarsh, David@Tarsh.com on +44 (0) 20 7602 5262 (o), +44 (0) 7770 816 070 (m).