Going for gold at awards night

Brits’ love affair with travelling is undiminished in the most difficult of years for getaways, with huge support for the nation’s 2020 holiday ‘Oscars’.

More than 132,000 voters cast in excess of 244,000 votes in the benchmark British Travel Awards – down, of course, on last year’s figure, but still a tremendous turnout during the coronavirus pandemic which has wrecked millions of people’s holiday plans and caused havoc for the industry.

In a pared down awards for 2020 there were 51 categories, reduced from the usual 84 because of the impact of Covid.

This week’s awards event was different too, with the usual shimmering evening showcase in a decked out London venue replaced by virtual glamour broadcast online to travel’s movers and shakers – and also beamed to the public for the first time – from a Canary Wharf rooftop bar and hosted by The One Show’s Alex Jones.

As for the winners, in the crucial battle of the tour operators, Titan Travel swept the board with a magnificent seven Golds, while BTA debutant On the Beach arrived in style with six.

Mercury Holidays, Newmarket Holidays and Solmar Villas each bagged four and a trio of Golds each went to Emirates Holidays, Headwater, Saga Group, Travelbag and Wendy Wu Tours.

BTA chief Lorraine Barnes Burton said: ‘’It’s been such a tough year for travel but the British public responded superbly to support their favourite firms in the awards.

“We’re looking ahead, all being well, to travelling again soon.”

The BTAs are still the largest UK consumer voted programme across any industry, not just travel. The full list of 2020 winners is at britishtravelawards.com

Everyone who submitted a vote in the BTAs was entered into a draw to win a 2021 luxury Nicko river cruise for two people on the Rhine or Danube, worth £5,190 and courtesy of Light Blue Travel. The winner was Julie Crawshaw of Halifax, West Yorkshire.