Leading players in the youth, student and educational travel industry celebrated at the Global Youth Travel Awards 2015

MEDIA RELEASE

Leading players in the youth, student and educational travel industry celebrated at the Global Youth Travel Awards 2015
Amsterdam, The Netherlands, September 25, 2015

The winners of the Global Youth Travel Awards 2015 – sponsored by Else Globe – were announced in Cape Town tonight during the concluding event of this year’s World Youth and Student Travel Conference – WYSTC 2015.

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, which coordinates the awards, 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
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
Runner up: THINK Global School
Honourable mention: SAVE Volunteering

GREEN ACCOMMODATION INITIATIVE
Winner: The Backpack
Runner up: YHA New Zealand
Honourable mention: Farfuglar ses – Hostelling International (HI) Iceland | YHA England and Wales

BEST MARKETING CAMPAIGN
Winner: STA Travel
Runner up: TrekAmerica
Honourable mention: Smaller Earth

OUTSTANDING VOLUNTEER PROJECT
Winner: Blue Ventures Expeditions
Runner up: Pod Volunteer
Honourable mention: International Student Volunteers in collaboration with Volunteer Africa 32° South

BEST TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY PRODUCT
Winner: Tripr
Runner up: WorldPackers
Honourable mention: FundMyTravel

BEST WORK EXPERIENCE PROVIDER
Winner: Austern International
Runner up: CIEE
Honourable mention: Alliance Abroad Group | Universal Student Exchange (USE)

BEST SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY INITIATIVE
Winner: The Backpack
Runner up: LooLa Adventure Group Pte Ltd
Honourable mention: BRIDGE Foundation

BEST YOUTH TRAVEL BLOGGER
Winner: I am Aileen
Runner up: Two Monkeys Travel
Honourable mention: 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 Global Youth Travel Awards 2016 will open next year. For more information, visit awards.wystc.org.

For media enquiries:

WYSE Travel Confederation

Tel: +31 (0)20 421 2800

Email: communications@wysetc.org

About WYSE Travel Confederation

• The World Youth Student and Educational (WYSE) Travel Confederation is a global not-for-profit membership organisation dedicated to promoting and developing opportunities for the youth, student and educational travel industry.
• WYSE Travel Confederation is the world’s most powerful network of youth and student travel professionals, connecting key industry players with decision-makers and government officials.
• Providing international travel experiences to over 30 million youth and student travellers each year, WYSE Travel Confederation’s global community of over 600 members spans more than 120 countries and a diverse range of sectors.
• Founded in 2006 through the merger of the Federation of International Youth Travel organisations (FIYTO) and the International Student Travel Confederation (ISTC), WYSE Travel Confederation brings together 60 years of youth travel expertise.
• WYSE Travel Confederation is endorsed by UNESCO and is a strategic partner and long-standing affiliate member of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
• Members may join one or more of its sector associations to take advantage of niche-specific expertise and trading opportunities, from adventure tour operators to au pair agencies, cultural exchange programmes to language schools, hop-on-hop-off buses to student insurance and youth hostels to volunteer programmes.
• WYSE Travel Confederation is committed to understanding the ever-changing characteristics, motivations and needs of young travellers. By gathering, analysing and sharing important market intelligence with members, academics and governmental decision-makers; the unique fast-changing needs of the youth travel market are at the forefront of its activities as it seeks to accelerate the development of youth travel.
• WYSE Travel Confederation hosts two annual trade conferences – the World Youth and Student Travel Conference (WYSTC) every September and the Work Experience Travel Market (WETM – IAC) in March.

For more information, visit www.wysetc.org or follow WYSE Travel Confederation on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.