The Isle of Wight and some of it’s tourism businesses were winners at a top travel awards ceremony on Thursday night.
The Group Travel Awards took place via a special online presentation, hosted by Patrick Kielty.
The Isle of Wight was voted the UK’s Best Destination, ahead of Canterbury and Bristol.
Will Myles, Managing Director at Visit Isle of Wight said:
‘To have been shortlisted in this category is one thing, but to take top place is amazing!
‘The Isle of Wight is a special place, with so much natural beauty but also fantastic people and businesses that continue to work hard to ensure that it is the best place to visit!”
It is the second time this year that the Island has been recognised in this category, winning the Countryfile Magazine Award in March.
The award was sponsored by Daish’s Holidays, which started on the Isle of Wight.
Paul Harper, Sales and Marketing Director at Daish’s said:
“Daish’s Holidays were please to sponsor the ‘Best UK Destination for Groups’ award at the recent annual Group Travel Awards. This category is fiercely competitive due to the amazing destinations that the UK has to offer.
“We were really pleased to announce the Isle of Wight as this year’s winner given it’s where Daish’s Holidays started and remains an exceptionally popular destination for our customers”.
Sandown based IOW Tours took the honours for the second time in 2 years for Best Group Tour Operator, an award voted for by the public.
Shirley Winn, Managing Director of IOW Tours, was over the moon:
“To have been recognised in the industry by our customers for this very prestigious award is fantastic, a huge thanks to all our customers for voting for us and to all of our team for helping us to achieve it”.
Warner Hotels Norton Grange Coastal Village at Yarmouth was named Best Holiday Park for Groups, ahead of local competition from Parkdean Resorts at Lower Hyde Park in Shanklin.
Ken Younie, General Manager at Norton Grange Coastal Village said:
“I’d like to say a massive thank you to the team here for their work, and thank you to the groups who have enjoyed their stay with us and continue to choose us as holiday destination”.
Daish’s Holidays took the award for Most Group Friendly Hotel Chain or Group.
Oh come on is this for real.The award was sponsored by Daish’s Holidays, which started on the Isle of Wight.
Unlikely to win anything once built over. Enjoy the accolade now, for could well be the last.
Benny, so you think visitors don’t come to see huge sprawling council estates, where once individual villages merge into one ugly, urban mass, with all the traffic congestion in between. Cars racing over the few less jammed routes, little parking, crime, swarms of chavs and their even larger swarms of clones, drunks and druggies loitering and being foul mouthed in towns, parks and beaches along with their discarded rubbish, needles and such left in once true beauty spots?
And you are the mad one?
Vote them out next time.
Thank you for this nightmare scenario, Stichberry. The Island used to be so lovely and friendly years ago – what’s happened in the years between?
I think stichberry means all the lower mainlanders who came here during the Maggie years, when a lot from up country came down as no work there or here, but get on yer bike said such could live where they wanted if looking for work, so they chose here, but never bothered finding jobs, just crime, and now this council is going to bring thousands more down to fill peeny feater and bulan.
Unlikely to win anything genuine now. I could run a competition for the best street in the world, tell noone but my best buddies and then claim victory. The island is a dump. Simple as.
Island is a dump time you got out more or move to somewhere nice like Birmingham.
The bigger ‘worry’ is the contents of Birmingham will be moving here, filling p enny f eather and b ullen with the crime we see in such areas soon to be on our streets.
The councillors and developers will live miles away, have themselves and loved ones treated and educated privately, and could not care less about us.
Vote this selfish rubbish OUT.
A shame the Council will not see any potential in this at all!
One will, the one who prefers to pay cash to his private venture employees, thus undercutting others fair and honest business competition in the holiday sector in this difficult season.
He’s a friend of mine – Shame your so bitter, Hope your cured soon.
Gungadin, thank you for unwittingly confirming his dishonesty. Please never stand up for this Cllr. if he is taken to court if you really like him. Although so well known I imagine they to would be in his ‘pocket’ or ‘friend’ listing.
As I never mentioned a name OR a named business, then you too know of this illegal ‘cash paying’ of some employees by this ‘respected pillar’ of our society and business leader..
Even if a friend surely you can see this is unfair to other competing businesses playing an honest game as we do in this very difficult trading year?
Someone who is dishonest in private concerns is very unlikely to be honest where public money is concerned, thus a huge concern for members of the council tax paying public.
Needs full independent investigation, then see who is bitter.
Life’s all about asking for strawberries and getting lemons. I’d sooner know an entrepreneur than a whinging idiot.
I’d have you defamation of character if I knew who you was Zak.
No you wouldn’t as I have told the truth, which you well know if he really is your close friend.
You yourself proved you know, as I never named him, or his business, yet you still knew of his paying staff cash in hand, defrauding the inland revenue, the social security, the NI duty, pension, and insurance liability issues if one of these workers are injured during their illegal employ.
I have photographs if proof is needed. And copies of these threads, where you implicated him. So don’t come it with me cookie. He has more to lose than most, AND you know it and so will he.
Pure greed is his motive, whilst we all are struggling trying to make a honest living in the short holiday season this year. Ask him about any furlough scams whilst chatting too.
Dear oh dear, Social media troll. However I shall request your IP address.
Get some pictures of me as well – Won’t you.
Mental health issues Zak. Get some help.
Potential of beating Bristol?
Bristol it’s actually a very dynamic city, something the IOW cannot compete with, It could have had potential if managed well.
Well done iow tours hope your up and running again soon
Why is everyone so negative on here. You lot make me sick. We should be rejoicing that our beautiful Island has been recognised in this way.
Chris, you can hang out the bunting.
Yet I bet if you had a large beautiful garden, and watched helplessly as piece by piece it was built upon, losing not only the beauty, but the ambiance, the wildlife, knowing that such was not just for ‘lovely Island folk’ to live upon, which would be bad enough, but for people from elsewhere, with many bringing the horrors that although ‘coincidently’ follow them to wherever they choose to live anywhere upon the globe, would still bring you and your children’s living standards and quality of life markedly down growing ever worse year in, year out.
It is people like YOU who make many of us sick. Your rejoice in the destruction by bringing ever more people here, filling the narrow roads, adding to crowded beaches and ruining the natural beauty which you profess to love.
Whilst I accept it is through ignorance that you can’t see that you can’t have one without the other, or perhaps like many of our dear councillors, you too gain from holiday makers spending their cash here, many of us don’t, and just endure the extra overcrowding and problems they bring, asking rightly, for us, ‘what is too like?’
Like a Turkey rejoicing the Christmas dec’s going up, nice to be upbeat, but dim as the ‘joy’ will be very short lived.
Toys and prams.
I have never read such a load of utter verbal diarrhea. If you have such a low opinion of this Island or what its become why do you stay here? Go live on the mainland for a couple of years and then you may appreciate what you have here. Never got anything good to say about anything or anyone!!
Upbeat, IF you had any sense you would see I am trying to protect the Island for I do see the beauty, but it is more at risk than at any other time.
It is the ‘mainland’ coming here which will ruin it. The ‘land’ whether over there, or here is not the issue, it is the quality and amount of people and housing and traffic which has ruined much of the mainland, and, when such fill our tiny space, will do likewise here.
Try thinking about it before commenting.
‘Try thinking about it before commenting’, interesting!!!
This accolade is most welcome, and has been awarded despite the best endeavours of the council to discourage tourism by closing public toilets and tourist information centres, and continually increasing parking costs.
It seems to me that a lot of people just want to pull up the drawbridge permanently not just because of coronavirus. The thing is people would still want the services and what/who would provide this, and why should they, if somewhere does not want to be part of the modern world and pay its way. Ok there are downsides and the downsides should be mitigated as much as possible. Stay the same isn’t an option.. the 1960s or 1890s aren’t going to come back where a certain prosperity came about by Queen Victoria setting up house and nobs following. Fell in the islands lap, but there comes a time where someone somewhere must grab the bull by the horns and create an economy, instead of constantly harking back to the past or wanting to keep everything the same. The island seems 50-60 years behind the times anyway to people who come, and that’s part of its charm. But unless the whole island wants to become a National Trust CHARITABLE property, something has to give, and yes some things may have to change.. anything that doesn’t evolve, dies.. but unless island wants to rely on the goodwill of the rest of the country and become a charitable economic basket case, then there needs to be a mindset of creating some form of economic prosperity, and not saying no to everything, “we want it the same where Victorian nobs or shiploads of day trippers paid the bills” and we didn’t have the problems of the modern world like everyone else. We want nothing that will encroach on our lifestyle but we want the financial support, from government, that everywhere needs. Which do you want just the cake, or eat it, you can’t have both
Shake this blokes hand Islanders. Then put him in charge of the IWC.
I agree Gungadin, this bloke has the right attitude. Stop the constant pessimistic outlook. Nothing stays the same forever!