Find out who, what and where won at the 2019 Group Leisure & Travel Awards ceremony. Voted for by readers of Group Leisure & Travel magazine, the annual awards celebrate first class destinations, attractions and providers across group travel.

The 2019 award winners were…

Best UK Attraction for Children & Families

  • Alton Towers
  • Drayton Manor Theme Park
  • Flamingo Land Resort
  • LEGOLAND Windsor Resort (Winner)
  • Longleat
  • Thorpe Park Resort
  • Aerospace Bristol
  • BODY WORLDS London
  • King Richard III Visitor Centre
  • Natural History Museum
  • Palace House, Newmarket
  • V&A (Winner)

Open photo gallery

Best Historic Attraction or Venue

  • Blenheim Palace
  • Bletchley Park
  • Buckingham Palace (Winner)
  • Houses of Parliament
  • Leeds Castle
  • Longleat

Best Coach or Tour Operator - UK Tours

  • Daish’s Holidays
  • David Urquhart Travel
  • Dunwood Travel
  • Edwards Coaches (Winner)
  • InterChoice
  • just for groups!

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Guests enjoying the drinks reception at the 2019 Group Leisure & Travel Awards. 

  • Condor Ferries
  • Eurostar
  • Eurotunnel
  • Irish Ferries (Winner)
  • P&O Ferries
  • Wightlink

Best Event for Groups

  • Birmingham International Tattoo
  • Great Yorkshire Show
  • Kynren
  • RHS Garden Wisley Flower Show (Winner)
  • Royal Ascot
  • Shrewsbury Flower Show

Best Christmas Experience

  • Christmas at Kew
  • Holkham Hall
  • Longleat Festival of Light
  • Thursford Christmas Spectacular
  • Waddesdon Manor (Winner)
  • Windsor Castle

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TV presenter & rugby star Martin Bayfield entertained guests throughout the evening. 

Best Guided Tour

  • Arley Hall & Gardens
  • Bletchley Park
  • Discover Newmarket
  • Houses of Parliament (Winner)
  • The London Dungeon
  • The Original Tour

Best Accommodation for Groups

  • Abacus Hotels
  • Daish’s Holidays (Winner)
  • Mill Rythe Holiday Village (Away Resorts)
  • Potters Resort
  • Rendezvous Hotel, Skipton
  • Warner Leisure Hotels

Best Group Dining Experience

  • Bateaux London Cruises
  • Faulty Towers The Dining Experience
  • Hard Rock Cafe, London
  • Magellan, Cruise & Maritime Voyages
  • Planet Hollywood London
  • Warner Leisure Hotels (Winner)

Best Theatre Production

  • The Bodyguard (UK Tour)
  • Come From Away
  • The Lion King
  • Tina: The Tina Turner Musical (Winner)
  • Wicked
  • Witness For The Prosecution

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The 2019 awards were held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel at Stadium MK, Milton Keynes. 

Best Cruise Line

  • CroisiEurope
  • Cruise & Maritime Voyages
  • Emerald Waterways
  • Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines (Winner)
  • P&O Cruises
  • Saga

Best Ticketing Agency

  • ATG Tickets
  • Encore Tickets
  • Group Line (Winner)
  • See Tickets
  • The Ticket Factory
  • Ticketmaster Groups

Best UK Destination

  • Belfast
  • Birmingham
  • Devon (Winner)
  • Isle of Wight
  • Liverpool
  • London

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Fully Funktional returned to party with guests after the awards ceremony. 

Best International Destination

  • Belgium
  • China
  • France
  • India (Winner)
  • Ireland
  • Switzerland

Outstanding Contribution to Group Travel

This award is rarely handed out and is presented to somebody who has been a dedicated part of the group travel trade for a number of years.

  • Dave Ashcroft, P&O Ferries

The Excellence Award 2019

This award recognises outstanding service to GTOs by individuals in the group travel trade.

  • Ellie Fulcher, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines (Winner)
  • Melissa Hackney, RHS
  • Nikki Stephenson, just for groups!
  • Barry Watson, The Original Tour

Best Group Tour Operator - Short Haul

  • David Urquhart Travel
  • Dunwood
  • Jet2holidays (Winner)
  • Riviera Travel
  • Success Tours
  • Switzerland Travel Centre

Best Group Tour Operator - Long Haul

  • HF Holidays
  • just for groups! (Winner)
  • Saga
  • South Quay Travel & Leisure
  • Titan
  • Travelsphere

Best UK Attraction

  • Beamish
  • BODY WORLDS London
  • Coca-Cola London Eye (Winner)
  • Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
  • RHS Garden Wisley
  • The View from The Shard

Group Travel Organiser of the Year Award®

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The 2019 GTO of the Year® finalists with their certificates (left to right); Roger Tacq, Lizzie Cawdell, Louise Thomas, Sue Shapland along with special guest Martin Bayfield and Mandy Keating from category partner Travelsphere. 

This very special award shines a spotlight on great group travel organisers The 2019 finalists were chosen because of the positive impact they have on the lives of others as well as their organising skills and travel knowledge.

  • Liz Cawdell, Heybridge U3A
  • Louise Thomas, Open University Theatre Group Bookers Club & Open University Trips Club
  • Roger Tacq, Huntingdon U3A
  • Sue Shapland, Exmoor Extroverts (Winner) 

2019 Awards Brochure

All of the highlights from the evening, including comments and images, were published in the special Awards Brochure in November’s edition of Group Leisure & Travel Magazine. For any other information about the annual Reader Awards visit www.groupleisureandtravel.com/awards