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AITO Awards

AITO hold two prestigious awards events each year including the AITO Travel Awards, honouring our most supportive and successful members, and the prestigious Travel Writer of the Year (TWOTY) Awards.


Tour Operator of the Year+-


The prestigious AITO Tour Operator of the Year awards are awarded annually to those tour operators with the highest ratings on aito.com, judged from AITO Reviews.

The prestigious awards are unveiled exclusively at the AITO Annual General Meeting each year. View the honour roll of recipients splanning from 2015 to the present year below.

2023

Tour Operator of the Year

Platinum  Absolute Escapes and On Foot Holidays
Gold  Bushbaby Travel, Mickledore Travel and McKinlay Kidd
Silver  Peter Sommer Travels, Fleewinter and Experience Travel Group
Bronze  Naturetrek and Wilderness Scotland

 

2022

Gold  Absolute Escapes and Peter Sommer Travels
Bronze  On Foot Holidays


2019

Gold  Inside Travel Group
Silver  Peter Sommer Travels and On Foot Holidays
Bronze  McKinlay Kidd


2018

Gold  The Mountain Company
Silver  Peter Sommer Travels
Bronze  McKinlay Kidd

2017

Gold  Peter Sommer Travels
Silver  Expert Africa
Bronze  Absolute Escapes


2016

Gold  McKinlay Kidd
Silver  Peter Sommer Travels
Bronze  Casas Cantabricas


2015

Gold  Peter Sommer Travels
Silver  CICERONI Travel
Bronze  The Mountain Company

 

Chair's Award+-


2023

Chair's Award

 Heather McKinlay, McKinlay Kidd

Business Partner of the Year+-


2023

Business Partner of the Year

Gold  James Hallam Insurance Brokers
Silver  White Hart Associates
Bronze  The Firebird Partnership

 

Tourist Board of the Year+-


2023

Tourist Board of the Year

Gold  Greek National Tourism Organisation
Silver  Turespaña
Bronze  Visit Portugal

Travel Writer of the Year (TWOTY) Awards+-


Held every Autumn at our 'Meet the Media' event, the prestigious Travel Writer of the Year (TWOTY) Awards are always hotly contested. Over the past 27 years, some of the most respected travel journalists in the industry have featured on the roll of honour.

The awards recognise excellence in the huge field of travel writing and offer a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the incredible talent we enjoy across the sector. The awards ceremony is attended by a remarkable collection of travel journalists, tour operators, and tourist boards.

Expert judges from the across the travel industry select the winners based on four key tenets, ensuring the winners articles were inspirational, informative, interesting, and well-written. 


2023


AITO Travel Writer of the Year Long (Over 1,500 words):

First Place - Liz Edwards – Son spa and sand in Oman, The Sunday Times
Second Place - Meera Dattani – No homework needed, Adventure.com
Third Place - Emma Thomson – Camping with custodians, National Geographic Traveller

AITO Travel Writer of the Year - Short (Under 1,500 words):

First Place - Sean Newsom – Following in the footsteps of Cézanne in Provence, The Sunday Times
Second Place - Sarah Gillespie – The underrated country that is destined to be SE Asia's next big thing, The Times
Third Place - Lucy Perrin – The blissful Indian idyll perfect for first timers, The Times

AITO Young Travel Writer of the Year:

First Place - Jacqui Agate – Where the crawdads sings, The Times
Second Place - Anna Richards – Holy Fork, Suitcase Magazine
Third Place - Doug Loynes – Rio’s favela tours are back, but are they ethical?, Fodors

AITO Travel Trade Writer of the Year:

First Place - Madeleine Barber – School for Cool, TTG
Second Place - Erica Rich – Star-studded journey, Aspire
Third Place - Lottie Gross – Why Chefs should take part in Regenuary, The Caterer

AITO Travel Blogger of the Year:

First Place (Joint) - Albania the great value Med beach destination that needs to be on your radar, Travelsupermarket.blog
First Place (Joint) - Heidi Fuller-Love – Albania the great value Med beach destination that needs to be on your radar, Travelsupermarket.blog
Second Place - Abigail King – Gambian cuisine, Inside the Travel Lab
Third Place - Phoebe Smith – Rewilding Portugal, Guardian.com

Many congratulations to our winners who have entered the AITO Hall of Fame alongside some of the most respected travel journalists in the industry.

Applications for this year open early summer for articles written during the previous 12-month period.