The winners received their gongs at a ceremony held in Amman, Jordan, last week. The travel industry takes these awards seriously. They are, quite clearly, the pre-eminent measure of consumer attitudes because of their transparency. These are the only awards where you are told how many coupons were completed and how the results are translated into the tables you see here. The Best Brochure section was decided by a team of judges, but in all the other categories readers were asked to rate the quality of service they received in the categories by ticking one of four boxes - excellent, good, fair or poor. We scored these results 3-2-1-0. The total score was divided by the number of coupons and this figure was translated into a percentage. To maintain statistical integrity, we imposed a threshold of coupons on each category and we believe our system allows us to compare the performance of small companies, assessed on fewer coupons, with their larger rivals. Thanks for voting.
Best travel agent
Trailfinders returns to the top after a gap of two years. STA Travel continues to move up the table while Thomas Cook remains the most popular of the multiples.
Company Coupons score
1 Trailfinders (3) 448 85
2 Co-op Travelcare (1) 58 84
3 STA Travel (5) 226 78
4 Apollo Travel (10) 69 76
5 Co-op Travel (7) 365 74
6 Bakers Dolphin (8) 81 73
7 Travelbag (11) 71 72
9 Thomas Cook (12) 961 71
10 Lunn Poly (13) 736 70
11 Going Places (15) 524 68
12 Travel Choice (-) 172 68
Best travel website
For the first time, we asked readers to tell us about the websites they use to book their travel arrangements. Their verdict supports anecdotal evidence that airline sites are the most satisfactory.
Company Coupons score
1 Easyjet.com 191 81
2 Ryanair.com 97 77
3 Expedia.com 103 77
4 Buzzaway.com 53 77
5 Go-fly.com 137 76
6 Thomascook.co.uk 34 74
7 Britishairways.com 118 74
8 Ebookers.com 90 71
9 Bargainholidays.com 108 71
10 Lastminute.com 191 66
Best travel company
There is no stopping Laskarina, which wins this blue ribbon category for a sixth consecutive year. The Laskarina satisfaction score is five percentage points ahead of second-place Inntravel. Ramblers strides into the top four while Saga eases into the top ten. Thomson outperforms its mass market rivals. An interesting subtext comes from the satisfaction score for Portland, Thomson's direct sale brand, which is 11 per cent higher than that of its parent company.
Company Coupons score
1 Laskarina (1) 164 94
2 Inntravel (3) 51 89
3 VFB Holidays (2) 1 112 88
4 Ramblers (15) 69 86
5 Citalia (4) 91 85
6 Simply Travel (6) 256 85
7 Saga (11) 121 85
8 Explore Worldwide (8) 204 85
9 Trailfinders (9) 231 84
10 Exodus (7) 81 84
11 Sunvil (12) 83 83
12 Canvas (14) 56 82
13 Headwater (10) 56 81
14 The Bridge Group (-) 53 81
15 Eurocamp (17) 151 80
16 Tapestry (-) 68 80
17 Inghams (29) 99 80
18 STA Travel (13) 66 79
19 Page & Moy (16) 91 79
20 Travelbag (18) 142 78
21 Journey Latin America (-) 56 78
22 Cresta (21) 126 77
23 Kuoni (23) 313 77
24 Brittany Ferries (24) 140 76
25 Voyages Jules Verne (26) 184 76
26 Archers (-) 60 76
27 The Magic Group (20) 111 75
28 Virgin (19) 226 75
29 Portland (22) 78 75
30 Keycamp (-) 81 73
31 British Airways (27) 251 72
32 Newmarket (-) 52 70
33 Crystal (32) 129 70
34 Manos (30) 102 69
35 Thomas Cook (31) 192 68
36 Panorama (28) 94 66
37 Kosmar (34) 94 65
38 Thomson (33) 795 64
39 Cosmos (36) 117 64
40 First Choice (37) 289 61
41 Hayes & Jarvis (35) 87 61
42 Unijet (-) 64 59
43 Olympic (-) 54 57
44 Airtours (39) 594 52
45 JMC (-) 580 52
Best short break company
VFB Holidays, winner of last year's inaugural short break section, retains its award. The Bridge Group and Cresta run neck-and-neck in the top 10, well ahead of their parent company Airtours. The threshold is set at 40 coupons for this category.
Company Coupons score
1 VFB Holidays (1) 125 95
2 Inntravel (2) 41 88
3 Riviera (4) 52 87
4 Great Escapes (-) 65 87
5 Kirker (5) 64 85
6 Brittany Ferries (8) 78 83
7 Allez France (3) 40 82
8The Bridge Group (10) 171 79
9 Cresta (7) 260 78
10 The Magic Group (9) 55 77
11 Eurostar (13) 259 77
12 Travelscene (14) 99 76
13 Air Miles (11) 93 75
14 British Airways (17) 212 74
15 Thomas Cook (16) 96 73
16 Crystal (-) 59 73
17 Virgin (19) 65 70
18 P&O (-) 72 69
19 Thomson (20) 131 67
20 Airtours (21) 51 58
21 JMC (-) 41 50
Best skiing company
Simply Ski are new winners in this specialist category which has a threshold of 20 coupons. Inghams again this year are the leading mass market operator.
Company Coupons score
1 Simply Ski (-) 21 85
2 Waymark (2) 21 84
3 Inghams (3) 113 69
4 Ski World (5) 45 68
5 Neilson (4) 71 62
6 Thomson (6) 75 59
7 Crystal (7) 205 58
8 Airtours (8) 34 55
9 First Choice (9) 68 55
Best cruise company
Royal Caribbean sails in ahead of last year's winner Fred Olsen in the other specialist category where the threshold is held at 20 coupons.
Company Coupons score
1 Royal Caribbean (-) 26 '91
2 Fred Olsen (1) 29 87
3 P&O Cruises (4) 108 82
4 Thomson (5) 25 80
5 Cunard Line (2) 39 80
Best leisure airline
Emirates remains a high-flying airline again holding off a strong challenge from Singapore Airlines. Aer Lingus is the best performing European airline. Buzz wins the battle of the low-cost carriers while Britannia is the highest-scoring charter airline.
Company Coupons score
1 Emirates (2) 143 86
2 Singapore Airlines (1) 189 84
3 Cathay Pacific (14) 59 81
4 Thai (3) 82 80
5 Air New Zealand (4) 78 79
6 Aer Lingus (12) 63 76
7 SAS (15) 61 75
8 Virgin (5) 728 75
9 Swissair (9) 113 71
10 Lufthansa (16) 129 71
11 Icelandair (-) 51 70
12 Sri Lankan (10) 100 69
13 Buzz (-) 168 69
14 Malaysian (6) 172 69
15 Go (13) 486 69
16 Easyjet (7) 565 68
17 Air Malta (-) 57 67
18 Delta (24) 75 67
19 TAP Air Portugal (22) 69 66
20 British Airways (18) 2,676 66
21 KLM (19) 320 65
22 British Midland (21) 231 65
23 Qantas (8) 168 64
24 United (25) 219 64
25 Alitalia (26) 134 63
26 Air Canada (11) 116 63
27 Continental (17) 131 63
28 American (25) 200 60
29 Iberia (31) 200 59
30 Ryanair (27) 404 58
31 Britannia (28) 835 56
32 Olympic (40) 102 55
33 Canada 2000-3000 (33) 68 55
34 Gulf Air (30) 70 54
35 Air France (34) 216 54
36 Air 2000 (38) 698 54
37 Sabena (41) 100 53
38 Monarch (35) 935 50
39 Airtours (36) 511 50
40 Egypt Air (39) 64 48
41 JMC (-) 869 48
42 Turkish (-) 54 45
43 Sabre (38) 125 35
Best business airline
We asked readers to assess the airline they used most when flying on business. Virgin remains the favourite. The poll demonstrates that business travellers will choose low-cost airlines: of these, Go slips in ahead of easyJet on satisfaction scores.
Company Coupons score
1 Virgin (1) 239 80
2 British Midland (4) 373 73
3 Lufthansa (2) 73 71
4 Go (6) 68 70
5 Easyjet (5) 251 66
6 KLM (7) 219 65
8 Aer Lingus (-) 60 65
9 British Airways (9) 1,962 64
10 American (11) 54 64
11 United (8) 49 61
12 Air France (13) 42 60
15 Ryanair (12) 90 55
16 Sabena (14) 58 51
Best ferry/train crossing
No other ferry company comes close to P&O's North Sea Ferries, whose longer crossings offer high levels of service. Eurotunnel is the surprise packet, outscoring the ever-popular Eurostar.
Company Coupons score
1 P&O North Sea Ferries (1) 65 77
2 Eurotunnel (6) 777 74
3 Eurostar (3) 1,655 73
4 Brittany Ferries (4) 819 73
5 Irish Ferries (7) 127 69
6 DFDS (2) 45 68
7 P&O Stena (8) 1,775 65
8 Stena (9) 484 63
9 Hoverspeed (10) 276 62
10 Sea France (11) 255 62
Best train company
The post-Hatfield chaos on the railway network, still biting when the coupons were completed, is reflected in some record low scores. The notable exceptions are Eurostar, the winner again, and Chiltern, which is a remarkable 20 points ahead of its UK rivals.
Company Coupons score
1 Eurostar (1) 240 73
2 Chiltern (2) 175 70
3 Scotrail (5) 198 52
4 Midland Main Line (4) 582 47
5 Anglian (6) 223 41
6 Great Eastern (8) 1,717 41
7 Thames (10) 211 39
8 Central (14) 135 38
9 Wales & West (9) 127 37
10 West Anglian Grt Nthn (7) 312 37
11 Great Eastern (8) 92 37
12 First North Western (16) 77 34
13 Great Western (12) 117 32
14 South West Trains (19) 821 31
15 Thameslink (11) 210 31
16 Virgin (17) 2,967 30
17 Northern Sprint (15) 182 27
18 London Transport (13) 65 26
19 Silverlink (18) 181 24
20 Connex (20) 1,378 18
Best car hire company
Company Coupons score
1 Enterprise Rent-a-Car 88 76
2 Dollar 58 74
3 Thrifty 63 73
4 Autos Abroad 78 72
5 National Car rental 81 71
6 Alamo 372 69
7 Avis 892 66
8 Europcar 365 65
9 Holiday Autos 417 64
10 Budget 487 63
11 Easyrentacar 225 63
Best British hotel
The metropolitan style of Malmaison wins this award again. De Vere is the most popular of the bigger chains.
Company Coupons score
1 Malmaison (1) 188 85
2 De Vere (-) 59 81
3 The Grand, Brighton (2) 65 80
4 Crowne Plaza (-) 53 77
5 Marriott (4) 229 76
6 Swallow (3) 123 72
7 Radisson (-) 59 72
8 Metropole (6) 63 71
9 Jury's (10) 64 70
11 Copthorne (8) 63 69
12 Stakis (5) 78 69
13 Hilton (7) 468 67
14 Travel Inn (12) 235 66
15 Thistle (9) 232 65
16 Moat House (15) 167 62
17 Holiday Inn (14) 280 62
18 Novotel (11) 102 61
19 Ibis (17) 121 60
20 Jarvis (16) 131 59
21 Forte (13) 104 59
22 Travel Lodge (19) 316 57
23 Post House (18) 225 55
24 Adelphi, Liverpool (20) 56 52
Best worldwide hotel
Traditional Spanish style is the worldwide winner while Meridien is the top-scoring international chain.
Company Coupons score
1 The Spanish Paradors (1) 82 91
2 Meridien (3) 52 87
3 Hyatt (4) 67 86
4 Marriott (6) 128 83
5 Inter-Continental (7) 50 83
6 Hilton (8) 239 81
7 Radisson (2) 127 79
8 Sheraton (5) 153 77
9 Plaza (-) 60 75
10 Mercure (9) 65 70
11 Novotel (10) 194 69
12 Holiday Inn (13) 278 68
13 Campanile (11) 83 67
14 Ibis (12) 177 66
15 Best Western (14) 97 65
Favourite British city
Edinburgh again holds off the challenge from Glasgow. The ancient cathedral cities of England remain popular while Newcastle and Belfast head an industrial challenge.
Company Coupons score
1 Edinburgh (1) 1,604 '85
2 Glasgow (2) 717 81
3 York (5) 927 80
4 Bath (7) 779 80
5 Durham (6) 89 80
6 Newcastle (9) 261 78
7 Chester (11) 199 77
8 Belfast (14) 113 77
9 Cardiff (15) 256 76
10 Lincoln (4) 110 76
11 Norwich (13) 205 76
12 Brighton (10) 451 75
13 Leeds (12) 413 74
14 Liverpool (19) 272 74
15 Harrogate (21) 60 73
16 Cambridge (17) 249 73
17 Winchester (5) 64 72
18 Stratford (20) 75 72
19 Exeter (26) 115 72
20 Oxford (18) 253 71
21 Bristol (22) 498 71
22 Aberdeen (23) 66 70
23 Nottingham (24) 160 70
24 Sheffield (27) 99 68
25Canterbury (16) 92 68
26 Manchester (25) 703 67
27 London (28) 3,436 66
28 Birmingham (31) 344 63
29 Plymouth (30) 77 57
Favourite overseas city
Sydney regains its number one spot with Melbourne making its debut in second place. Siena heads the European challenge.
Company Coupons score
1 Sydney (2) 315 96
2 Melbourne (10) 50 93
3 Chicago (1) 59 93
4 Siena (-) 53 93
5 Helsinki (-) 52 92
6 New York (6) 668 91
7 Cape Town (15) 118 91
8 Singapore (32) 101 91
9 Prague (9) 376 91
10 Washington DC (23) 61 90
11 San Francisco (11) 241 90
12 Venice (5) 412 90
13 Barcelona (12) 1,000 90
14 Vancouver (4) 127 89
15 Seville (20) 179 89
16 Hong Kong (21) 78 89
17 Bruges (25) 200 89
18 Havana (8) 140 89
19 Istanbul (37) 80 88
20 Rome (27) 437 88
21 Toronto (18) 89 87
22 Berlin (30) 160 87
23 Dubai (-) 51 87
24 Stockholm (14) 96 87
25 Marrakesh (33) 92 87
26 Budapest (40) 80 86
27 Copenhagen (19) 82 86
28 Madrid (26) 406 86
29 Dublin (45) 241 86
30 Auckland (13) 51 86
31 Kuala Lumpur (41) 63 86
32 Munich (22) 69 86
33 Granada (29) 117 85
34 Amsterdam (24) 600 85
35 Verona (-) 71 85
36 Florence (39) 262 85
37 Boston (16) 126 85
38 Bilbao (38) 90 84
39 Las Vegas (7) 57 84
40 Bangkok (42) 167 83
41 Vienna (31) 102 83
42 Lisbon (35) 214 83
43 Lille (36) 59 82
44 Beijing (28) 53 82
45 Paris (43) 1,636 82
46 Nice (44) 111 81
47 Palma (53) 96 80
48 Brussels (51) 239 78
49 Valetta (-) 59 78
50 Milan (49) 107 74
51 Geneva (54) 67 72
52 Cairo (47) 100 71
53 Naples (-) 70 71
54 Los Angeles (52) 90 69
55 Athens (55) 180 64
Favourite European country
Finland is a new winner this year, heading a strong Scandinavian challenge. Italy remain the highest rated of the big four, ahead of Greece, Spain and France.
Company Coupons score
1 Finland (2) 86 92
2 Iceland (-) 52 92
3 Switzerland (5) 301 90
4 Norway (3) 107 90
5 Italy (4) 2,213 83
6 Denmark (6) 134 87
7 Croatia (-) 73 87
8 Czech Republic (1) 248 87
9 Sweden (9) 126 86
10 Austria (7) 296 85
11 Republic of Ireland (8) 332 85
12 The Netherlands (10) 618 83
13 Greece (12) 1,445 83
14 Spain (13) 2,687 83
15 Hungary (14) 87 82
16 Poland (18) 110 82
17 Portugal (19) 586 82
18 Belgium (20) 397 81
19 France (17) 3,767 81
20 Turkey (16) 190 81
21 Germany (15) 532 80
22 Cyprus (21) 173 77
23 Malta (23) 106 74
24 The Canaries (24) 61 71
Favourite long-haul country
New Zealand remains the favourite ahead of the Maldives, a newcomer this year. The charms of Costa Rica, Cuba and Chile are reflected in the top 10 for the first time.
Company Coupons score
1 New Zealand (1) 404 96
2 The Maldives (9) 70 94
3 Australia (6) 1,041 93
4 Costa Rica (-) 58 93
5 Peru (5) 114 93
6 Nepal (3) 91 92
7 Cuba (16) 275 90
8 Canada (8) 646 90
9 Thailand (13) 479 90
10 Chile (-) 56 89
11 Tanzania (7) 52 89
12 Singapore (29) 104 89
13 Malaysia (12) 197 89
14 Japan (10) 153 88
15 Vietnam (2) 79 88
16 Bali (-) 67 88
17 India (21) 520 87
18 South Africa (15) 320 87
19 Mexico (17) 251 86
20 Hong Kong (18) 139 86
21 Sri Lanka (14) 206 85
22 Brazil (24) 93 85
23 China (25) 199 85
24 Indonesia (11) 85 85
25 United States (23) 3,069 84
26 Egypt (20) 220 83
27 Barbados (26) 102 83
28 Kenya (29) 118 83
29 Morocco (28) 65 81
30 Jamaica (30) 76 80
31 Dominican Republic (31) 67 79
Best brochure awards
Skiing
Winner: Equity School Ski
A very focused schools skiing brochure. The piste maps are excellent. A page to each resort with loads of information in a no-nonsense way.
Also shortlisted: Lotus Supertravel, Powder Byrne, Scott Dunn Ski, Ski Force Travel
Summer
Winner: Mark Warner
All the information you would need, inviting cover and visually seductive throughout. Matches the product and the market well.
Also shortlisted: Classic Cottages, Keycamp, Simply Spain, Vacanze in Italia.
Short breaks Winner: Kirker Holidays
A brochure for literate people, the watercolour images and "old fashioned" feel did not please all the judges. It won because the writing was stylish, infomrative and reliable. It offered a wide choice.
Also shortlisted: A&K Weekends and Beyond, Drive Ireland, Osprey
Special interest
Winner: Exodus Multi- Activity Holidays
An innovative "flier" brochure aimed at younger travellers, It tells you exactly what you are going to do whether it be to canyon down a river or jump off a platform.
Also shortlisted: A&K Voyages of Discovery, PGL Activity Holidays, Carolyn Lodge Joie de Vivre, Minorca Sailing, ATG's Pieve a Castello.
Long haul
Winner: Sunvil Africa
A brochure that sells Africa "warthogs and all", it holds your hand without being patronising. A wealth of information written by enthusiasts. Excellent typography and grid plus superb maps.
Also shortlisted: A&K Tailormade Journeys, Cox & Kings Latin America, New England Country Homes, Okavanga Tours and Safaris.
