It’s Double Win For Travel Village Group At Cruise Adviser Awards!

Posted on: Tuesday 20th September 2022 by Jess Clayton

Cruise Adviser Awards

Cruise Adviser Awards recognise Agency and Cruise Agent of the Year!

Cruise industry magazine Cruise Adviser held their inaugural The Cruise Awards evening event on 13th September 2022.

The glitzy ceremony was hosted at the iconic heritage setting of the Cutty Sark, following a drinks reception journey with a difference. Guests cruised down the Thames aboard paddle steamer the Elizabethan to the awards venue. Rather fitting during this week of change…

The Cruise Awards by Cruise Adviser were created to recognise the very best that our industry has to offer. Whether this was luxury lines providing exemplary service across the board, or agents and agencies who have nailed it in the most trying of circumstances.

Nominations for awards were anonymous. So, you can imagine our delight at being informed that we had been shortlisted for no less than two fantastic awards! The Travel Village, our store on Highfield Road in Blackpool, was up for the “Best Travel Agency” category. And, Cruise Expert, Gill Williams, was in line for one of the most coveted titles – Travel Agent of the Year!

Phil Nuttall – Travel Village Group CEO – and Gill provided evidence to a judgement panel, made up from CLIA’s Trade Engagement team, in response to the question,

What changes have you implemented in the last 12 months to grow cruise sales?

Following a nervous wait, the Awards evening was finally upon us.

Group MD, John Warr, and nominee Gill Williams attended the glamorous event. Both were ecstatic to leave with two fabulous pieces of silver(wood)ware to adorn our awards shelves.

John said:

Our 4th generation family business, has been based on Highfield Road in Blackpool since 1959, and we were the first Cruise agency to open a shop on the “high street”. It’s testimony to our 6 experienced senior sales consultants, with over 100 years collective travel industry experience, and all of the support staff, behind them, that we’ve won this prestigious accolade. To win against the stiff competition is high praise indeed.

Gill, who is Godmother to the ‘Emerald Radiance’ river cruise ship, had this to say,

Everyone in travel has had a really tough couple of years and this award is testament to everyone in travel – we did not give up! Personally I am so over the moon to be recognised for this wonderful award for an industry I am so passionate about.

The award recognises her excellent customer service and expertise in both ocean and river cruising. Well done Gill!!!

John remarks,​

Our business values of putting our customer at the heart of everything we do enables us to work together as a team working towards a common goal of delivering quality customer service, a sentiment echoed by our customers.

98% of our customers scored us as good or excellent, in a recent survey, for the way we have looked after and communicated with them in the last couple of years
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