Our winners all know just how to keep the customer satisfied

You are spending more and travelling more, but you expect the best all the way. Charles Starmer-Smith reflects on the special qualities recognised by the 75,000 readers who voted in the Telegraph Travel Awards 2015-16

The 14 winners of the Telegraph Travel Awards 2015-16 – voted for by more than 75,000 readers – have been announced, with 3.5million votes cast in the most comprehensive, wide-ranging and reliable travel survey in Britain. These awards are all about customer satisfaction. The methodology is qualitative, not quantitative – so it does not follow that the bigger the travel company, or the more popular the destination, the better its chances. Also, these awards are not the pass-the-parcel affair that characterise so many occasions. Many of the winners may not surprise you, but, in my view, this consistency only adds to the legitimacy of the awards.

The event was held in partnership with Belmond, with the guests transported from London Victoria to the star-studded ceremony at the Kingscote private station in West Sussex on its luxurious Northern Belle train. The awards, presented by Gyles Brandreth, were also supported by chauffeurit.com, a website that specialises in luxury airport transfers.

The survey also asked about your prospective travels. There is no doubt that the turbulence of international events is having an impact. The trend is a return to the familiar and the English-speaking world. More than one in three of you plan to go to the United States (compared with a national yearly average of one in 17), one in five plan to go to Australia (national average: 1 in 103), one in six to Canada (national average: 1 in 90) and one in nine to New Zealand (national average: 1 in 325). Spain, Italy and Portugal are also up, at the expense of Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt.

What is also clear is that you are spending more and travelling more frequently than ever. It is your desire to see the world that makes these awards so special.