Global Youth Travel Awards
Celebrating excellence in youth, student and educational travel
The Global Youth Travel Awards (GYTAs) formally recognise outstanding performers in across several fields of international youth travel and reward WYSE Travel Confederation members and other stakeholders in the youth, student and educational travel industry that make an noteworthy contribution to our industry.
The winners of the GYTAs are traditionally announced on the final evening of the World Youth and Student Travel Conference (WYSTC). Due to WYSTC 2021 being a hybrid event, the virtual awards ceremony aired on 15 February 2022. Scroll down to watch!
Sponsored by
Award categories
Excellence in Travel
Industry News Coverage
Excellence in Travel Industry News Coverage
The award recognises
- a reliable source of information on how COVID-19 is affecting the travel and tourism industry
- providing insight on topics of relevance to businesses working B2C and B2B
- clearly communicating the global dynamics of the industry while also giving attention to specific regions, sectors, products and issues, including youth travel
- accessible to diverse voices in travel and tourism
- continually demonstrating integrity in reporting.
The 2021 winner:
The Pie News
Nominees:
New Diversity and
Inclusion Initiative
New Diversity and Inclusion Initiative
The award recognises a travel or tourism organisation that has successfully implemented a new programme to measure and improve diversity and inclusion in its operations.
The 2021 winner:
AIFS/Au Pair in America for its DEI Learning Journey Series
Nominees:
- AIFS/Au Pair in America for its DEI Learning Journey Series
- CIEE for expansion of its racial equity and social justice initiatives
- NYC & Company for The Black Experience in NYC
- The establishment of Tourism Diversity Matters (TDM)
Notable Innovation
Notable Innovation
The award recognises a travel or tourism organisation that has developed an innovative product or service that was new to the youth and student travel industry in 2021.
The 2021 winner:
TruTravels for Travel Styles trips
Nominees:
- Edge at Hudson Yards for Reach for the Sky
- Peregrine Risk Management for Foresight
- TruTravels for Travel Styles trips
Best Responsible
Tourism Campaign
Best Responsible Tourism Campaign
The award recognises a travel or tourism organisation that developed an effective responsible tourism campaign.
The 2021 winner:
World Nomads for Travel Better
Nominees:
- G Adventures for Stop, rethink and retravel
- Intrepid for Global Vaccine Equity campaign
- Visit Portugal for Hello World. It’s me, tomorrow.
- Visit Scotland for Slow Travel
- World Nomads for Travel Better
Effective Use of
Marketing
Effective use of Marketing
The award recognises a travel or tourism organisation that has effectively used marketing or advertising to and/ or:
- increase engagement and/or loyalty among target audience(s)
- communicate its brand purpose
- launch a new product or service to support its recovery
- diversify its audience to support its recovery
The 2021 winner:
AuPairCare for Summer Adventures video contest
Nominees:
- AuPairCare for Summer Adventures video contest
- Beds and Bars for St Christopher’s Innsiders campaign
- Fáilte Ireland for Keep Discovering
- Inspired by Iceland for Icelandverse
- Switzerland Tourism for No Drama
Outstanding contribution
to the SDGs
Outstanding contribution to the SDGs
The award recognises a travel or tourism organisation that has made a measurable contribution to two or more of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2021.
The 2021 winner:
World Nomads for The Footprints Network
Nominees:
- Contiki Holidays for MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences
- Forum on Education Abroad for advancing the UN SDGs through education abroad
- World Nomads for The Footprints Network
Watch the 2021 awards ceremony
Terms & Conditions of voting
About
What are the Global Youth Travel Awards?
The GYTAs began at the World Youth Student and Educational Conference (WYSTC) 2011 in Barcelona, with a focus on bringing to light the great experiences being provided by members of our community. In subsequent years – 2012 in San Diego, 2013 in Sydney, 2014 in Dublin, 2015 in Cape Town, 2016 in Belgrade, 2017 in Montreal, 2018 in Edinburgh, 2019 in Lisbon and 2020 online – the awards have evolved to include members of the wider youth travel industry and a greater number of awards.
What is 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 young travellers and the youth, student and educational travel industry that serves them.
How can I contact WYSE Travel Confederation regarding the GYTAs?
If you have any questions regarding the Global Youth Travel Awards, please contact awards@wysetc.org.
Selection of nominees
Nominees for the 2021 Global Youth Travel Awards were either nominated by WYSE Travel Confederation or self-nominated by application. All nominees in all award categories are subject to a public vote.
WYSE-nominated candidates
WYSE Travel Confederation selects relevant candidates for each category. These candidates are reviewed and approved for inclusion in the public vote by the Management Board of WYSE Travel Confederation
Self-nominated by application
An organisation may nominate itself for consideration in an award category by submitting the following items before 18 November 2021:
- Organisation name
- Main contact, job title, city/country, email and telephone
- Organisation website
- Explanation (up to 500 words) of the organisation’s achievement(s) relevant to the award category, including metrics of performance and effectiveness, measured outcomes and lessons learned.
Self-nominations are reviewed and approved for inclusion in the public vote by the Management Board of WYSE Travel Confederation.
Declarations of interest
In the process of selecting nominees, WYSE Travel Confederation’s Board of Directors and staff were required to declare any relationships with nominees which could be considered to represent a potential bias in opinion or conflict of interest, such as family or personal connections, work activities and/or financial interests.
Removal of nomination
If a nominee would like to be removed from consideration for an award, the nominee may do so by contacting us at awards@wysetc.org.
Voting
Do I need to be a WYSE Travel Confederation member to vote?
No. However, if you are operating in the youth, student and educational travel industry we would highly recommend that you join WYSE Travel Confederation as membership offers you a range of benefits, including access to the latest research, regular webinars, news and discounts on major industry events. To learn more about membership benefits, click here.
When does voting close?
Voting for the 2021 edition has now closed.
Evaluation
How does the judging take place?
The winners of each award will be based on the highest number of valid votes received by the deadline of Tuesday, 4 January 2022, 23:59 CET.
Awards Ceremony
When and where are the awards presented?
The Global Youth Travel Awards were presented via a virtual awards ceremony on 15 February 2022.
