Double awards scoop for Travel Counsellors

Independent global travel company, Travel Counsellors, has claimed two top industry titles in the same night.

The British Travel Awards is the largest and most influential poll of consumer opinion on the performance of leisure travel and tourism providers. The winners are determined solely by the number of votes they receive from the public. Travel Counsellors was commended for its innovative focus on people and continued investment in the development of technological platforms, which has contributed to its significant growth.

Since its launch in 1999, the Amazon Growing Business awards has become the UK’s most recognised and respected accolade for successful SMEs and entrepreneurs. The awards celebrate success in various areas of business, including digital, exports, innovation and entrepreneurialism. The judges championed Travel Counsellors’ disruptive business model and ongoing financial success, with 12 years of successive record growth. The firm’s growth is underpinned by its focus on championing people, from customers to individual Travel Counsellor franchisees, global support team members and the communities it works within.

The independent provider of bespoke travel services has seen a record year, with a rise in global sales driven by a surge in demand for its corporate offering. The company is set to exceed last year’s total bookings milestone of R8,75 bn, having reached R5,74 bn in the first half of 2018, an increase of 12% from the same period last year.

This is the latest in a series of accolades for the Manchester-based business. The company was awarded the Best Customer Focus Award in the UK National Business Awards 2017 and has been named in the Sunday Times HSBC International Track seven times, including in each of the last four years. Steve Byrne, CEO of the company, was named as one of Grant Thornton’s ‘Faces of a Vibrant Economy 2018’.

Steve Byrne said: “We are delighted to win Best Independent Travel Agency in the British Travel Awards and The Santander Growing Business of the Year - Larger Company category in the Amazon Growing Business Awards. This double award win is testament to the efforts of our people – each individual Travel Counsellor who goes above and beyond to provide outstanding corporate and leisure travel experiences for our customers, and our support teams across the globe who provide the tools and technology platforms to enable them to do just that.

“These awards are a great reflection of the care we show for our people, our customers and our communities every day. We’d like to thank our customers for voting for us in the British Travel Awards, and to also be named as the fastest growing large company in the Amazon Growing Business Awards highlights the incredible growth story of Travel Counsellors and recognises the trusted relationships we create with our customers – a success story due to our unwavering focus on putting people at the heart of everything we do.”