TORONTO — Canadian travel agents shone bright at Sandals Resorts International’s 16th Annual Sandals Travel Agency Recognition (S.T.A.R.) Awards, with a long list of winners from top-producing agencies across the country.
Adam Stewart, CEO and Deputy Chairman, Sandals Resorts International; The Premier of Turks & Caicos Islands, Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson and her husband; and Gary Sadler, Senior VP Sales, Unique Vacations, Inc
A total of 300 travel agents and companions from Canada, the U.S. and Latin America were in attendance to be recognized for their hard work and dedication to the Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts brands, with a getaway capped by a gala ceremony at the recently reopened Beaches Turks & Caicos.
Notable figures from the Turks and Caicos community also attended the awards ceremony, including the Governor of Turks and Caicos Islands, His Excellency Dr. John Freeman; Deputy Governor, Her Excellency Anya Williams; The Premier of Turks & Caicos Islands, Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson and Minister of Tourism, Hon. Ralph Higgs.
Lifetime Achievement Award winners
Sandals Resorts created the S.T.A.R. Awards in 2002 as a way to recognize top travel agents and their agencies as well as showcase their latest products and on-island attractions. In addition to top product, regional and national categories, the S.T.A.R. Awards announced the Worldwide Top Ten Travel Agencies, Chairman and CEO Awards and the Lifetime Achievement Awards.
Flemming Friisdahl, Founder, The Travel Agent Next Door wins the CEO’s Award of Excellence
Here’s a list of all the Canadian agents and agencies honoured at this year’s S.T.A.R. Awards:
WORLDWIDE AWARDS –CANADA
Lifetime Achievement Awards:
Robert Rizzo – TravelOnly
Barbara Scrocco – TravelOnly
Lisa Tetzlaff – Valente Travel
Ron Tereshyn – 510 Travel
CEO’s Award of Excellence:
Flemming Friisdahl – The Travel Agent Next Door
Top 10 Travel Agencies:
LoyaltyOne Travel Services – Toronto
NATIONAL AWARDS
Top Host Travel Agency
Travel Professionals International (TPI) – Winnipeg
Top Call Centre
LoyaltyOne Travel Services – Toronto
Top Sandals Travel Agency
tripcentral.ca – Bedford, NS
Top Beaches Travel Agency
tripcentral.ca – Bedford, NS
REGIONAL AWARDS
Top Sandals Travel Agency
Atlantic Canada – tripcentral.ca, Bedford, NS
Quebec – One Love Honeymoons, Pointe Claire, QC
Ontario – Vision Travel (formerly Goliger’s TravelPlus) Waterloo
Western Canada – Fareconnect.com, Winnipeg
Top Beaches Travel Agency
Atlantic Canada – tripcentral.ca, Bedford, NS
Ontario – Vision Travel (formerly Goliger’s TravelPlus) Waterloo
Western Canada – Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Winnipeg
Top Club Sandals Travel Agency
Atlantic Canada – tripcentral.ca, Bedford, NS
Quebec – One Love Honeymoons, Pointe Claire, QC
Ontario – Vision Travel (formerly Goliger’s Travel Plus) Waterloo
Western Canada – Vision Travel Solutions, Calgary
Top Butler Travel Agency
Atlantic Canada – tripcentral.ca, Bedford, NS
Quebec – One Love Honeymoons, Pointe Claire, QC
Ontario – TravelOnly, Toronto
Western Canada – Travel Professionals International, Winnipeg
BEST OF THE BEST – AGENCY RECOGNITION AWARDS – CANADA
LoyaltyOne Travel Services – Toronto
Travel Professionals International – Winnipeg
Vision Travel (formerly Goliger’s TravelPlus) – Waterloo
The Travel Agent Next Door – Toronto
Carlson Wagonlit Travel – Peterborough
TravelOnly – Toronto
Itravel2000 – Mississauga
Red Tag Vacations – Mississauga
Travel Time TPI – St. John’s, NL
tripcentral.ca – Bedford, NS
SellOff Vacations – Toronto
One Love Honeymoons – Pointe Claire, QC
Aimia Canada – Toronto
To learn more about how to become a Sandals STAR agent through the exclusive CSS (Certified Sandals Specialist) program, agents can contact their local Sandals Business Development Manager or visit taportal.sandals.com for additional details.
