Hurtigruten Expeditions won Expedition Cruise Line of the Year, while the group was highly commended in the Sustainable Travel Company of the Year category, before going on to be named UK and Ireland Travel Company of the Year.
Other big winners on the night included Jet2, with Jet2holidays claiming the title of Tour Operator of the Year – Large, and sister-brand Jet2.com taking away Airline of the Year.
See all the winners on the night
Ant Daniels, Hurtigruten vice president of sales and marketing EMEA, said: "It’s mind-blowing. We’re so proud. I’ve never seen the team react the way they did – this was them being recognised for all their hard work, their dedication, the belief they have in the UK and Ireland, and in Hurtigruten.
"Internally, there have been a lot of challenges – change brings that. We now have a lot stronger support for both our heritage brand and HX, our expedition brand. Both products need to stand alone and have dedicated teams. Everyone had embraced this, and we simply cannot fault their positivity.
The Travel Industry Awards 2023 by TTG, in association with Gold Medal, Pure Luxury, Cruise Plus and Incredible Journeys, took place on Thursday night (28 September) at Magazine London beside the iconic O2 Arena.
Almost 1,000 guests joined the celebrations, hosted by Davina McCall, at what TTG Media expects will be the most sustainable awards ceremony in the sector, thanks to serving a vegetarian Spanish menu courtesy of the Spanish Tourist Office and other measures designed to minimise the event’s carbon footprint.
A Not Just Travel agent, meanwhile, won the biggest agent trophy of the night. Ben Casey, founder of Ben Casey’s Great Escapes and Out of This World Travel, was named UK and Ireland Travel Agent of the Year after being crowned Home-Based Agent of the Year earlier in the evening.
Casey said: "I’ve only been doing this for four years – just being a finalist was mind-blowing, but to be up on stage for both awards was incredible."
Paying tribute to the support he had received from Not Just Travel, Casey said: "Covid was a difficult period for everyone, and Not Just Travel really stood by all of us. Since we’ve been back on track, we’ve just gone from strength to strength."
Casey added he had been able to recruit a concierge manager and team, and had just taken on two travel consultants. "They’re going to drive the business forward and allow me to take it to the next level," he said.
Travel Counsellors chief executive Steve Byrne was recognised for his outstanding contribution to the sector by being named Travel Legend, while Sunvil’s managing director Chris Wright was named LGBT+ Trailblazer of the Year.
The prestigious John Hays Entrepreneur of the Year award was bestowed upon Alice and Georgia Aubrey, co-founders of attractions booking platform Lovetovisit.com, after they were highly commended in 2022.
Entertainment included a set by international DJ Joel Corry courtesy of Virgin Voyages, an Irish bar hosted by Tourism Ireland, a golf contest with the Italian National Tourist Board featuring the 2023 Ryder Cup course, a Holiday Extras disco dance-off and more.
’Best in class’
TTG Media CEO Daniel Pearce said: “Our annual search for the companies and individuals doing their utmost to champion Smarter, Better, Fairer travel has once again unearthed tales of extraordinary customer service, outstanding innovation and incredible commitment to sustainability.
“With our finalists all facing the toughest judging process in the business, anyone who took a trophy home from the Travel Industry Awards 2023 by TTG can truly feel they are best in class."
