Its been confirmed..Viking really are No. 1
Viking River Cruises has confirmed it’s position as the number one river cruise operator following a record breaking run of success at four of the travel industry’s major travel award ceremonies.
The winning streak saw Viking start the month, by scooping the Best River Cruise Operator at the ‘Oscars’ of the travel industry, the British Travel Awards. These awards are described as the benchmarch for excellence , with more than 100,000 votes cast by the general public.
With more than 70 categories spanning transport, cruise, hospitality, destinations and more, companies from across all sectors were honoured with the coveted gold or silver awards. Out of seven nominees in the River Cruise category, Viking took a massive 54% of the votes.
Further success followed with Viking taking the top award as River Cruise Operators of the year in the Travel Agent Choice Awards, an award sponsored by leading travel industry publications Selling Long-Haul, Short Breaks and Holidays, Travel Uni and Selling Cruising.
The hattrick was reached with Viking taking the award for ‘Favourite River Cruise Operator’ in Global Travel Group’s ‘Beyond Travel Awards’ where members of the public vote for their favourite travel companies in a variety of different categories.
Viking’s award winning run reached a crescendo when it scooped Best River Cruise Company in the World Travel Awards at a star-studded ceremony at London’s Grosvenor Hotel.
Launched in 1993, to acknowledge and recognise excellence in the world’s travel and tourism industry, thousands of votes are cast by travel professionals from 183,000 travel agencies, tour and transport companies and tourism organisations in more than 160 countries around the globe.
According to Graham Cooke, President and Founder, World Travel Awards, “The awards are known as raising the bar for ultimate customer service and overall business performance, offering travellers a cast-iron assurance that what they are buying is a guarantee of travel excellence”.
Commented on the company’s breathtaking run of success, Wendy Atkin-Smith, UK Managing Director Viking River Cruises said, “To be recognised the travel industry or general public with one award is a fantastic achievement, but to win four major titles awards is the best endorsement we could possibly receive that after just three years of operating in the UK, we have captured the imagination and support of both the travel trade and our customers.
“Our objective is to continue delivering a premium river cruise product for our customers backed up by first class customer service while ensuring that travel agents are fully equipped, to give the best possible travel advice to their customers.
“We are proud and delighted to win such prestigious awards and would like to thank all our customers and travel partners for their support”.
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