Best of Wales Shortlisted for National Travel Award

Gareth Mahoney, Suzanne Cole and Llion Pughe - Best of Wales Directors.

After a strong start to 2012, Machynlleth and Cardiff -based Best of Wales is pleased to announce that it has been shortlisted for the prestigious British Travel Awards in the category of Best UK Holiday Cottage/Self Catering Booking Company.

The British Travel Awards are seen as one of the best indicators of public opinion on the UK travel industry, with over 100,000 opinions cast.

These prestigious awards are nominated by members of the travel industry and voted for by the holiday and travel-buying public.

They are the only Welsh company to be shortlisted in all of the 75 categories.

Llion Pughe, one of the three Managing Directors, said: “We are thrilled to be nominated for such an important award. It is especially significant as it is voted for by both the industry and our customers.

“We see this as further evidence of the growing trend for booking holidays with small specialist companies who can offer a personalised service.

“In response to this, we have just launched our new VIP experience, available in 21 of our cottages, which not only offers insider knowledge of the best local shops and restaurants but allows customers to really personalize their holiday by adding on services such as Welsh lessons, private chefs and beauty treatments.”

BTA’s chief executive Lorraine Barnes Burton said: “Best of Wales is to be congratulated on reaching the finals of the prestigious British Travel Awards.  The largest consumer voted awards programme in the UK, The BTAs are designed to reward the best companies in travel, and the winning accolade is the benchmark for excellence when it comes to finding out who really is the best in the business of travel for the UK consumer. Good luck to Best of Wales!”

All companies entered for an Award were put before a core selection of industry professionals, drawn from the BTA Academy, a panel of respected individuals in business from both in and outside the travel industry, who whittled the nominations down to the list of final nominees in each of the seventy-five categories. The next stage sees the shortlisted companies put before the public vote with voting promoted through BTA media partners which include The Times, Sunday Times, The Sun, Sunday Sun and the Global Radio stations, including LBC and Classic FM.  Shortlisted companies are also encouraged to lobby their happy customers for votes!

The winners will be the companies with the most votes – in 2011 over 700,000 votes were cast with the voting process and results scrutinized and audited by independent auditors Deloitte LLP. The winners of the 2012 British Travel Awards will be announced at a glittering ceremony on 1 November at the Battersea Evolution in Battersea Park, London.