This year’s best attractions, operators, destinations, suppliers and experiences for groups, according to GLT readers.

Here are your 2026 GLT Awards winners…

Best Attraction for Children & Families

This category is presented in partnership with Airedale Tours.

  • Bekonscot Model Village & Railway
  • Cadbury World
  • Chester Zoo
  • LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort (winner)
  • Monkey World
  • Natural History Museum, London
  • West Midlands Safari Park

This category is presented in partnership with DFDS.

  • American Museum & Gardens
  • London Transport Museum
  • The National Gallery (winner)
  • National Maritime Museum
  • National Science & Media Museum
  • The Postal Museum
  • The Royal Mint Experience

The National Gallery

The iconic National Gallery in London picked up the award for Best Museum or Gallery for the first time. 

Best Historic Attraction or Venue

This category is presented in partnership with LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort.

  • Blenheim Palace (winner)
  • Hever Castle
  • Shakespeare’s Birthplace
  • Sudeley Castle & Gardens
  • Tower of London
  • Westminster Abbey
  • Windsor Castle

Best Garden Visit

This category is presented in partnership with Chester Zoo.

  • Birmingham Botanical Gardens
  • Exbury Gardens
  • Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens
  • RHS Garden Wisley
  • RHS Harlow Carr
  • Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (winner)
  • The Savill Garden

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Source: RGB Kew

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, was voted Best Garden Visit by readers of GLT Magazine.

Best Coach or Tour Operator - UK Tours

This category is presented in partnership with The Royal Mint.

  • Alfa Holidays
  • Daish’s Holidays
  • Dunwood (winner)
  • Greatdays Travel Group
  • just for groups!
  • Plimbley Travel
  • Skills Holidays

This category is presented in partnership with Plimbley Travel.

  • Brittany Ferries
  • DFDS
  • Eurostar
  • Irish Ferries
  • LeShuttle (winner)
  • P&O Ferries
  • Wightlink

Keep scrolling to find out who else has won ↓

 

A special thank you to our 2026 Awards Partners…

 

Best Event or Live Experience

This category is presented in partnership with Daish’s Holidays.

  • ABBA Voyage (winner)
  • Battle Proms Picnic Concerts
  • Cirque Du Soleil
  • BBC Gardeners’ World Live
  • Blackpool Illuminations
  • Harrogate Spring Flower Show
  • Kynren 

ABBA Voyage, London

Source: Ralph Larmann

GTOs and coach tour operarators decided the popular ABBA Voyage was the Best Event or Live Experience for 2026. 

Best Christmas Experience

This category is presented in partnership with Irish Ferries.

  • Belvoir Castle
  • Blenheim Palace
  • The Festival of Light, Longleat
  • National Memorial Arboretum
  • Salisbury Cathedral
  • Thursford Christmas Spectacular (winner)
  • Waddesdon Manor

Best Guided Tour

This category is presented in partnership with Ramble Worldwide.

  • Chatsworth
  • Coronation Street Experience
  • Hidden London Tours (London Transport Museum) (winner)
  • Manchester City Stadium Tour
  • The Royal Mint Experience
  • Shakespeare’s Globe
  • Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Tour

A group taking part in the Dover Street Hidden London Tour

Source: © London Transport Museum

The Hidden London team at the London Transport Museum were recognised for their group offer and scooped the Best Guided Tour award. 

Best Accommodation for Groups

This category is presented in partnership with Ambassador Cruise Line.

  • Alfa Hotels (winner)
  • Brend Collection
  • Cedar Court Hotels
  • Daish’s Holidays
  • Legacy Hotels
  • Potters Resorts
  • Warner Hotels

Best Group Dining Experience

This category is presented in partnership with The New Meridian.

  • Afternoon Tea at the Spinnaker Tower
  • 58th Street by The Lost Estate
  • Faulty Towers The Dining Experience (winner)
  • Hard Rock Cafe
  • Mamma Mia! The Party
  • Potters Resorts

Best Theatre Production

This category is presented in partnership with Group Line.

  • Disney’s Hercules The Musical
  • The Lion King
  • Mamma Mia!
  • Paddington The Musical (winner)
  • SIX the Musical
  • Stranger Things: The First Shadow
  • Wicked

Paddington the Musical

Source: Johan Persson

Paddington The Musical has been a huge success in the West End - and picked up the award for Best Theatre Production. 

Best Cruise Line

This category is presented in partnership with Travel Editions.

  • Ambassador Cruise Line
  • Celebrity Cruises
  • CroisiEurope
  • Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines (winner)
  • MSC Cruises
  • Royal Caribbean
  • Saga Cruises

Best Ticketing Provider

This category is presented in partnership with ABBA Voyage.

  • ATG Group Sales
  • Delfont Mackintosh Theatres (winner)
  • Disney Tickets
  • Group Line
  • LW Tickets
  • Nimax Theatres

Best UK Destination

This category is presented in partnership with Dunwood.

  • Belfast
  • County Durham (winner)
  • Edinburgh
  • Isle of Wight
  • Liverpool
  • London
  • Wiltshire

Best International Destination

This category is presented in partnership with P&O Ferries.

  • China
  • Flanders, Belgium
  • France
  • Iceland
  • Ireland
  • Italy (winner)
  • Krakow, Poland

Florence, Italy

Italy is clearly a firm favourite with groups - it won Best International Destination. 

The Excellence Award

This category is presented in partnership with Blenheim Palace.

  • Janine Akalley, Plimbley Travel
  • Anthony McGinley, ATG Group Sales (winner)
  • Tamsyn Rangel, Waddesdon Manor
  • Lily Wunsch, Shakespeare’s Globe

The Excellence Award is for an individual’s service to group travel organisers and you can find out more about this year’s finalists here.

Best Group Tour Operator

This category is presented in partnership with LeShuttle.

  • Airedale Tours
  • HF Holidays
  • Leger Holidays
  • Premier Holidays
  • Ramble Worldwide
  • Riviera Travel (winner)
  • Travel Editions
  • Wendy Wu Tours

Best UK Attraction

This category is presented in partnership with Warner Hotels.

  • Buckingham Palace
  • Beamish – The Living Museum of the North
  • Hampton Court Palace
  • Royal Observatory, Greenwich
  • Shakespeare’s Globe (winner)
  • The View from The Shard
  • Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter

Shakespeare's Globe

Shakespeare’s Globe won Best UK Attraction - taking home their first GLT Award! 

A presentation not in the advertised programme!

A surprise, special award was presented to Tony Lincoln for his Outstanding Contribution to Group Travel. Tony marks 50 years in travel, tourism and hospitality in 2026 and his career has seen him enjoy successful roles at Disneyland Paris, Planet Hollywood and Cirque du Soleil.

Group Travel Organiser of the Year® Award

This category is presented in partnership with Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines.

  • Becky Chikaura, MsBee Group Travel (winner)
  • Carol Gower, CBA Millenium Outings
  • Jane Minshull, Sandbach Friends on Tour
  • Sue Povey, Out and About with Sue

You can find out more about the winner, finalists, and their groups, in our special feature here.

Keep up to date with the GLT Awards at groupleisureandtravel.com/awards and by subscribing to our free weekly newsletter featuring the latest news and ideas for people who organise group trips.

Interested in becoming an Awards Partner for the 2027 initiative? Click here to find out more or contact Lisa Milton on 01908 613323 or email lisa.m@yandellmedia.com