VAQ wins United Kingdom Family Traveller Excellence Award w/ VBCVB assistance. Category: Accessible and Specialist Initiatives
Accessible and Specialist Initiatives
Morgan’s Wonderland in San Antonio, Texas
Beaches Resorts
Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center
Intrepid Travel
Winners of the Family Traveller Excellence Awards crowned at celebrity hosted event
14.11.2019 Last night saw 50 of the top travel experiences and attractions including game reserves, theme parks and interactive museums crowned winners in the newly formatted Family Traveller Excellence Awards, hosted by renowned singer songwriter, Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
In a pioneering new approach to the awards to make them more meaningful and relevant to how British families are travelling, Family Traveller moved away from the traditional set award categories such as best hotel for families to adapt to the emerging and changing travel trends. This bold move gave their readers and subscribers the freedom to nominate the most unique, unusual and family friendly travel brands and experiences. These were then grouped into ten clear and well-defined themes which naturally occurred through the nominations.
It’s clear from the award themes including sustainable intentions and inclusive wellness that Family Traveller readers are much more focused on the impact to the world their holidays have. Pester power from children has become less about materialistic things and more about climate change and world events. Family Traveller has found that their readers children are much more aware of their environment thanks to climate change leaders such as Sir David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg. Greta’s ongoing media presence has made children realise that they do have a voice and are able to use it to make a change.
Over 110,000 votes were cast by Family Traveller readers and subscribers to find the 50 Excellence Award Winners, double the number of votes cast for the 2018 awards.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor, the host for the evening said “The outstanding calibre of the award winners really shows what’s important to Family Traveller readers when choosing and booking their holiday experiences. As a mum of five boys it’s important to me that they not only have a wonderful time, but they are also educated by other cultures and experiences.”
Jane Anderson, editor, Family Traveller said “It’s vital to us that we are constantly evolving with the times and offering our audience choice. We know their holidays are precious and we have seen from the awards that sustainability and environmental impact is a real deciding factor when they choose to book an experience or holiday. We want to support those intentions and will continue to raise the bar with the content we create and make sure it’s topical and informative to help them make those informed decisions.”
The winners are as follows:
Sustainable Intentions.
Morukuru at Madikwe Game Reserve
MalaMala Game Reserve, South Africa
Six Senses Laamu, Maldives.
Feadon Farm Wildlife and Education Centre, Landal Gwel an Mor Resort
Forest Holidays, Thorpe Forest, Norfolk
Cool Innovations
Le Massif Resort, Courmayeur, Italy
The Core at Domes of Elounda
Royal Caribbean Cruises
Anantara Layan Phuket Resort, Thailand
Hillside Beach Club, Turkey
Awesome Thrills and Spills
Norwegian Cruise Line
Canopy Park at Jewel Changi Airport, Singapore
Disneyland Paris for Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain and Marvel Season of Super Heroes.
Diggerland, UK
Sani Adventure Park, Sani Resort, Greece
Immersive Experiences.
Crans-Montana, Switzerland
The Acropolis, Athens
Cite de l’espace, Toulouse, France
Visit Jamaica, Bob Marley Museum.
Rome Cavalieri, A Waldorf Astoria Resort
Pure Fun
Santa’s Lapland, Lapland
Hever Castle & Gardens, Kent, UK
Shangri-La, Singapore
Dubai Parks & Resorts
Camp Bestival
On Your Marks Active
Clayoquot Wilderness Resort, Canada
Quinta do Lago, Algarve
Esprit
The Esplanade Hotel, Cornwall
Hard Rock Hotel, Woodward, Riviera Maya, Mexico
Learning and Enrichment.
Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre, Cheshire, UK
ZSL London Zoo, UK
Peak Retreats
Woolley Grange, near Bath, a member of Luxury Family Hotels
Les Villages Nature Paris, France
Accessible and Specialist Initiatives
Morgan’s Wonderland in San Antonio, Texas
Beaches Resorts
Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center
Intrepid Travel
Virgin Atlantic’s Hidden Disabilities Scheme
Inclusive Wellness
Chablé Resort and Spa, Yucatan, Mexico
Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, Switzerland
Evian Resort, France
Fairmont Maldives Sirru Fen Fushi, Maldives
Cocoon & Bloom at Marbella Club, Spain
Going Above and Beyond
Best of South Africa Travel
Ikos Resorts, Greece and Spain
Original Travel
Kuoni’s Family Collection
TGV, OUI.SNCF
For more information about the Family Traveller Excellence Awards visit https://familytraveller.com/awards-2019/
#familytravellerawards
This year’s awards are sponsored by Ayla, the newest and most exciting resort destination in Jordan.
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For media information contact Kylie Bawden at The Brighter Group kylie.bawden@finnpartners.com or Jane Anderson at Family Traveller Magazine jane@familytraveller.com