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Vacation.com honored top member agencies and supplier partners with its 10th annual “Power of the Partnership” (POP) Awards. This year’s POP Awards recognized 14 of the organization’s most successful member agencies in the United States and Canada, as well as its 16 top supplier partners. The honors were announced during the farewell reception at Vacation.com’s 18th International Conference & Trade Show at the Diplomat Resort & Spa in Hollywood, Florida.
Seven Chairman’s Awards were bestowed onto the member agencies in the United States and Canada with the highest supplier sales in 2015. A total of seven agencies earned the President’s Award for the largest supplier sales growth in three categories in 2015. The winners included:
2016 Chairman’s Award
U.S. Chairman’s Pinnacle Award – Vacations To Go; Elizabeth Jones (Houston, TX)
U.S. Chairman’s Elite Award – CruCon Cruise Outlet Plus, Inc.; Sandra Cleary (Moultonborough, NH)
U.S. Chairman’s Preferred Award – Cruise.com; Gloria Bohan (Dania Beach, FL)
U.S. Chairman’s Host Award – Nexion; Jackie Friedman (Irving, TX)
Canadian Chairman’s Pinnacle Award – Robert Q Travel; Nancy Woodworth (London, ON)
Canadian Chairman’s Elite Award – The Destination Experts; Deanna Byrne (Windsor, NS)
Canadian Chairman’s Preferred Award – Newwest Travel Ltd; Dennis Laliberte (Edmonton, AB)
2016 President’s Award
U.S. Agency Tier 1 – Cruises & Tours Unlimited; Steve Muraca (Jacksonville, FL)
U.S. Agency Tier 2 – Magical Moments Vacations; Jen Kistler (Vanlue, OH)
U.S. Agency Tier 3 – Paradise Weddings and Travel; Tina Hearn (Cypress, Texas)
U.S. Agency Tier 4 – Worldwide Travel Associates, Inc.; Rob Walters (Avondale, PA)
Canadian Agency Tier 1 – Liz Moore Destination Weddings Ltd; Liz & Steve Moore (Kelowna, BC)
Canadian Agency Tier 2 – Travel VIP; Kris Ryan (Edmonton, AB)
Canadian Agency Tier 3 – Travel Trends.; Pam Macey (Calgary, AB)
The 2016 Supplier POP Award winners were chosen based on exceeding overall needs and providing support in specific areas of agent interest, such as marketing, technology and education and training. In addition to honoring its partners based on their specific product category, they were also recognized based on Vacation.com’s membership concept of “Belong. Inspire. Grow.” The “Pinnacle” award was presented to the overall top-performing supplier among car, tour, insurance and cruise segments in North America. All supplier partner honors were awarded based on votes by Vacation.com members.
This year’s supplier winners include:
Pinnacle Award (North America Partner of the Year) – Crystal Cruises
Air Partner of the Year – Air New Zealand
Ground Transportation Partner of the Year – The Hertz Corporation
Cruise Partner of the Year – Royal Caribbean International
Specialty Cruise Partner of the Year – Viking River Cruises
Escorted Tour Partner of the Year – Globus family of brands
U.S. Individual Tour Partner of the Year – Funjet Vacations
U.S. Insurance Partner of the Year – AIG Travel
U.S. “Belong” Partner of the Year – Celebrity Cruises
U.S. “Inspire” Partner of the Year – Norwegian Cruise Line
U.S. “Grow” Partner of the Year – Holland America Line
Canadian “Belong” Partner of the Year – TravelBrands
Canadian “Inspire” Partner of the Year – Globus family of brands
Canadian “Grow” Partner of the Year – Sunwig Vacations/Signature Vacations
Canadian Package Tour of the Year – WestJet Vacations
Canadian Insurance Partner of the Year – Manulife
During Vacation.com’s 18th International Conference & Trade Show, additional honors were announced for: Top Newcomer, as well as the agencies booking the most for the Worldwide Hotel Program, CruisePRO, AirPRO, and Distinctive Voyages.