And the winners of the Global Youth Travel Awards 2015 are…

The winners of the Global Youth Travel Awards 2015 – sponsored by Else Globe – were announced last night during the concluding event of this year’s World Youth Student and Educational (WYSE) Travel Conference.

Having drawn an impressive number of nominations and votes, the award categories celebrate the outstanding performers within the youth, student and educational travel industry and act as a benchmark for excellence within this fast-growing sector.

David Chapman, Director General of WYSE Travel Confederation, said: “The calibre of nominations this year across all award categories has been truly outstanding. As youth travel blossoms into the tourism industry’s fastest growing segment, representing approximately 23% of international tourist arrivals, it’s important to acknowledge the wealth of talent and innovation from the companies as well as individuals driving this growth.”

This year’s winners are:

The WYSE award acknowledges a person or organisation that has made an outstanding contribution to the youth, student and educational travel industry:

Michael McCarry

EXTRAORDINARY EXPERIENCE
Winner: International Student Volunteers
2nd place: THINK Global School
3rd place: SAVE Volunteering

GREEN ACCOMMODATION INITIATIVE
Winner: The Backpack
2nd place: YHA New Zealand
Joint 3rd place: Farfuglar ses – Hostelling International (HI) Iceland | YHA England and Wales

BEST MARKETING CAMPAIGN
Winner: STA Travel
2nd place: TrekAmerica
3rd place: Smaller Earth

OUTSTANDING VOLUNTEER PROJECT
Winner: Blue Ventures Expeditions
2nd place: Pod Volunteer
3rd place: International Student Volunteers in collaboration with Volunteer Africa 32° South

BEST TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY PRODUCT
Winner: Tripr
2nd place: WorldPackers
3rd place: FundMyTravel

BEST WORK EXPERIENCE PROVIDER
Winner: Austern International
2nd place: CIEE
Joint 3rd place: Alliance Abroad Group | Universal Student Exchange (USE)

BEST SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY INITIATIVE
Winner: The Backpack
2nd place: LooLa Adventure Group Pte Ltd
3rd place:  BRIDGE Foundation

BEST YOUTH TRAVEL BLOGGER
Winner: I am Aileen
2nd place: Two Monkeys Travel
3rd place: No Money, Will Travel

CONSUMER VOTED AWARDS

The following awards were voted for by 7,500 young travellers:

BEST YOUTH TRAVEL AIRLINE: Emirates
BEST YOUTH TRAVEL DESTINATION: London
BEST YOUTH TRAVEL ACCOMMODATION: Generator Hostels
BEST YOUTH TOUR OPERATOR: Rustic Pathways
BEST YOUTH TRAVEL AGENT: StudentUniverse

Nominations for the next Global Youth Travel Awards will open in 2016. For more information visit awards.wystc.org

See you in Serbia in 2016!