[A] high street travel agency in Whitehaven has been named as one of the best agencies in the UK & Ireland.
Cumbria Travel has been selected as the Top Travel Agency in North West England, as part of a power-list of the best agents in the British Isles by industry bible the Travel Trade Gazette.
The TTG Top 50 Travel Agencies list was revealed in a glittering ceremony in Birmingham on Thursday night after an extensive judging process, which saw agencies be rated by tour operators and other suppliers, and then assessed by travel trade journalists.
More than 900 travel agencies and branches put themselves forward for consideration for TTG’s Top 50 Travel Agencies 2018 – in association with Kuoni – from which a shortlist of 95 finalists across 12 regional and 7 nationwide categories was devised.
TTG group editor Pippa Jacks said: “Now in its third year, our Top 50 Travel Agencies initiative has seen us scour the UK and Ireland to uncover its most dedicated and dynamic travel agency businesses.
“It’s been truly inspiring to hear how these agencies go above and beyond on a daily basis, to deliver extraordinary service and incredible value to their customers, and to support their local communities.
“Our winners demonstrate that high street travel retailing in 2018 is a vibrant and successful business sector, and that the future is bright for exceptional agencies like these.”
Judges said of Cumbria Travel: “Cumbria Travel is a thriving agency which is expanding fast, helped in no small part by a highly motivated, close-knit team who clearly love what they do.
“We were impressed by the many examples of how consultants have gone the extra mile for their customers in the last year alone.”
Directors Leanne Miller and Tricia Rickerby said: “We are absolutely delighted to be named Top travel agency northwest England by the TTG. This is a huge achievement for us after only 3 years of trading. Huge thanks to our teams and our wonderful customers who have supported us, it means so much to us.”
The shortlisting stage was undertaken by a panel of 60 travel suppliers including airlines, tour operators and car hire providers, who rated hopeful agencies according to their business performance, customer service and innovation. To decide which shortlisted agencies made it into the Top 50 list, a TTG journalist visited or interviewed each shortlisted agency to carry out an assessment.
Find the full Top 50 shortlist and more information on the process at ttgtop50.com