A glamorous affair with everyone looking their best, the evening at the Mansion House was filled with warmth and good cheer (despite Storm Eowyn’s impending arrival).
Angela Walsh, President of the ITAA, said of the Irish Travel Industry Awards: “These awards are an opportunity to reflect on the accomplishments of the professionals within our industry, and this year as every year did not disappoint. We congratulate the finalists for this well-deserved achievement, and we wish everyone the best of luck on awards night.”
She added, “We are also honoured to have MSC Cruises as the headline sponsor for 2025 and we are delighted to once again have this opportunity to work with them on what we are sure will be the biggest and best Travel Industry Awards night yet.”
Hoping next year will see Drew Barrymore and Orlando Bloom pay us a visit, in the meantime, let’s find out who won!
Irish Travel Industry Awards 2025 ITAA Member Finalists and Winners are:
David Smith of TUI Ireland was awarded the Robbie Smart on the Road Hero Award, sponsored by Bedsonline.
Joe Tully (Tullys Travel) was awarded the ITAA Contribution to the Travel Industry Award (Sponsored by Cork Airport)
INNOVATION CATEGORY
BEST SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE SPONSORED BY EMIRATES
· Best4Travel
· Frosch Ireland – Joint-Winner
· Travel Department – Joint-Winner
BEST ONLINE MARKETING – SPONSORED BY EMIRATES
· Click&Go Holidays – Winner
· Navan Travel / UWALK
· Tour America
BEST OFFLINE MARKETING SPONSORED BY EMIRATES
· Click&Go Holidays
· Club Travel
· Magic Vacations – Winner
TRAVEL AGENCY CATEGORY
ITAA CORPORATE TRAVEL MANAGEMENT COMPANY (TMC) OF THE YEAR – SPONSORED BY SHANNON AIRPORT
· Club Travel – Winner
· Frosch Ireland
ITAA TRAVEL AGENCY OF THE YEAR – UNDER 10 EMPLOYEES – SPONSORED BY SHANNON AIRPORT
· Fahy Travel
· Magic Vacations – Winner
· Navan Travel
ITAA TRAVEL AGENCY OF THE YEAR – OVER 10 EMPLOYEES – SPONSORED BY SHANNON AIRPORT
· Cassidy Travel – Winner
· Click&Go Holidays
· Frosch Ireland
Irish Travel Industry Awards 2025 Supplier Finalists are:
EXCELLENCE IN AIR TRAVEL
AIRLINE OF THE YEAR – IRELAND TO EUROPE SPONSORED BY RIVIERA TRAVEL
· Aer Lingus – Winner
· KLM
· Ryanair
· TAP Air Portugal
· Turkish Airlines
AIRLINE OF THE YEAR – IRELAND TO NORTH AMERICA SPONSORED BY RIVIERA TRAVEL
· Aer Lingus
· Air Canada
· Delta Airlines
· JetBlue
· United Airlines – Winner
AIRLINE OF THE YEAR – BEST LONG-HAUL AIRLINE SPONSORED BY RIVIERA TRAVEL
· Emirates – Winner
· Etihad
· Qatar Airlines
· Turkish Airlines
AIRLINE OF THE YEAR – BEST BUSINESS CLASS SPONSORED BY RIVIERA TRAVEL
· Emirates – Winner
· Etihad
· Qatar Airways
· Turkish Airlines
AIRLINE OF THE YEAR – SUSTAINABILITY FOCUSED SPONSORED BY RIVIERA TRAVEL
· Aer Lingus
· Air Canada
· Emirates – Winner
· JetBlue
· Turkish Airlines
TOUR OPERATOR AWARDS
EUROPEAN TOUR OPERATOR OF THE YEAR SPONSORED BY HERTZ
· Arrow Tours
· Sunway
· Topflight
· TUI – Winner
SKI TOUR OPERATOR OF THE YEAR SPONSORED BY HERTZ
· Crystal Ski – Winner
· Topflight
· Travel Solutions
IRISH-OWNED TOUR OPERATOR OF THE YEAR SPONSORED BY HERTZ
· Arrow Tours
· Discover Travel
· Sunway – Winner
· Topflight
· Travel Focus
LONG HAUL TOUR OPERATOR OF THE YEAR SPONSORED BY HERTZ
· Classic Resorts
· Discover Travel
· Travel Focus – Winner
· Sunway
SUSTAINABILITY-FOCUSED TOUR OPERATOR OF THE YEAR SPONSORED BY HERTZ
· Intrepid Travel – Winner
· G Adventures
· Sunway
· The Travel Corporation
· Travel Focus
EXCELLENCE IN CRUISE
MAIN STREAM CRUISE LINE OF THE YEAR SPONSORED BY BOOKABED / TBO
· Celebrity Cruises
· MSC Cruises – Winner
· Norwegian Cruise Line
· Royal Caribbean International
PREMIUM CRUISE LINE OF THE YEAR SPONSORED BY BOOKABED / TBO
· Celebrity Cruises – Winner
· Princess Cruises
· Royal Caribbean International
· Silversea Cruises
ULTRA LUXURY CRUISE LINE OF THE YEAR SPONSORED BY BOOKABED / TBO
· Celebrity Cruises
· Explora Journeys
· Seabourn Cruises
· Silversea Cruises – Winner
· Uniworld Boutique River Cruises
RIVER CRUISE LINE OF THE YEAR SPONSORED BY BOOKABED / TBO
· AMA Waterways
· APT Travelmarvel
· Riviera
· Uniworld Boutique River Cruises – Winner
EXPEDITION / ADVENTURE CRUISE LINE OF THE YEAR SPONSORED BY BOOKABED / TBO
· Celebrity Cruises
· Explora Journeys
· Hurtigruten
· Ponant Cruises
· Silversea Cruises – Winner
SUSTAINABILITY-FOCUSED CRUISE LINE OF THE YEAR SPONSORED BY BOOKABED / TBO
· Celebrity Cruises
· MSC Cruises – Winner
· Royal Caribbean
· Silversea Cruises
FERRY COMPANY OF THE YEAR SPONSORED BY BOOKABED / TBO
· Brittany Ferries
· Irish Ferries – Winner
· P&O Ferries
· Stena Line
INDUSTRY SERVICE PROVIDER
TECHNOLOGY PROVIDER OF THE YEAR
· Amadeus – Winner
· Dolphin Dynamics
· Fareteam / WTC
· Travelport / Galileo
· Trust Payments
CAR HIRE PROVIDER OF THE YEAR
· Flexible Autos
· Hertz – Winner
TRAVEL INSURANCE PROVIDER OF THE YEAR
· Accident & General – Winner
· Blue Insurance
· Worldwide Travel Insurance
TOURIST BOARD OF THE YEAR
· Las Vegas LVCVA
· Malta Tourism Authority
· Visit Portugal
· Spanish Tourism Office – Winner
· Visit USA
ACCOMMODATION PROVIDER OF THE YEAR
· Arrow Tours / Bedbank.ie
· Bedsonline / Hotelbeds
· Bookabed / TBO – Winner
· Expedia
· Stuba
EXCELLENCE IN TRADE RELATIONS
AIRLINE TRADE TEAM OF THE YEAR SPONSORED BY THE SPANISH TOURISM OFFICE
Aer Lingus
· Emirates – Winner
· JetBlue
· Turkish Airlines
· United Airlines
TRAVEL TRADE TEAM OF THE YEAR SPONSORED BY THE SPANISH TOURISM OFFICE
· Accident & General
· ASM
· Bookabed / TBO – Winner
· Emirates
CRUISE TRADE TEAM OF THE YEAR SPONSORED BY THE SPANISH TOURISM OFFICE
· Celebrity Cruises
· MSC Cruises – Winner
· Norwegian Cruise Line
· Royal Caribbean International
· Silversea Cruises
TRADE BOOKING PLATFORM OF THE YEAR BY THE SPANISH TOURISM OFFICE
· Airwaves / Cruising Power
· Amadeus
· Bookabed / TBO
· MSC Cruises
· TUI – Winner
DESTINATIONS CATEGORY
BEST WORLDWIDE CITY DESTINATION SPONSORED BY HURTIGRUTEN
· Capetown
· Las Vegas – Winner
· Lisbon
· New York
BEST SUMMER DESTINATION SPONSORED BY HURTIGRUTEN
· Algarve – Winner
· Costa Del Sol
· Greece
· Lanzarote
· Spain
BEST SKI/SUN WINTER DESTINATION SPONSORED BY HURTIGRUTEN
· Andorra
· Austria – Winner
· Canary Islands
· Lanzarote
· Lapland
BEST WORLDWIDE THEME PARK SPONSORED BY HURTIGRUTEN
· Disneyland Paris
· Universal Orlando Resort – Winner
· Walt Disney World Resort
And That’s a Wrap
The event is organised on behalf of the ITAA by Business Exhibition and sponsored by MSC Cruises, Bedsonline, Bookabed/TBO, Cork Airport, Emirates, Hertz, Hurtigruten, Iberostar, jetBlue, Princess Cruises, Riviera Travel, Shannon Airport, the Spanish Tourist Office, Trust Payments, Uniworld River Cruises and Mediahuis.
That’s all folks. Many thanks to all involved in putting this mammoth event together. It takes months of effort and organising to run a seamless evening of this size and I didn’t envy the added complications of an all-Ireland red weather warning in the mix. Congratulations to the team behind the scenes, to the winners and thanks to the sponsors, nominees and attendees making the night a wonderful success!
Hopefully, I’ll catch a favourable tailwind back to Wicklow tonight. As always, safe travels.