Traveltek and Hurtigruten celebrate Travel Weekly Globe award for tech and innovation

The annual ceremony too place in-person in London for the first time in two years

Travel technology developer scooped the Best Technology Provider award the prestigious Travel Weekly Globe Awards held in London last night.

The event, took place in-person for the first time for two years due to the COVID pandemic.

It saw 1,200 travel industry professionals gather at the Grosvenor House for the black-tie event hosted by TV personality Rylan Clark-Neal and featuring performance from operatic singer Katherine Jenkins, comedian Tom Allan and M People lead singer Heather Small.

This year’s Globes was delayed from its traditional January date due to the Omicron COVID outbreak.

Cressida Sergeant, Traveltek chief commercial officer, said that the technology award was down to the hard work it has put in supporting trade partners over the last three years.

“It’s recognition that we have supported the trade through unprecedented times. It’s with a great deal of pride that we pick this award up and it makes all the hard work the effort.”

Traveltek, a leading supplier to cruise and mainstream holiday travel agents, has overhauled its travel booking platform during the pandemic moving to the Amazon Web Services cloud.

The firm has also launched a separate market insights division providing trends analysis from its live booking data.

The winners of the majority of the Globe awards are decided via a voting process among readers of Travel Weekly, the UK’s leading and only weekly travel trade magazine.

Special awards are decided by a panel of expert judges and this year’s Innovation in Travel award went to specialist cruise line Hurtigruten for its investment in sustainable technology.

The Norwegian operator is pioneering hybrid-powered ships and already has two in operation.

Anthony Daniels, general manager UK and EMEA, said the firm’s board was due to visit London, where it is setting up its HQ, this week and the will be “incredibly proud” when they are presented with the Globe.

“Everything we do is about sustainability,” he said. “We are incredibly conscious about the places we visit, and the communities, to make sure we are setting the path for future generations.

“We want to make sure our guests are supporting the places we go to and we are learning about the positive impact we can have.

“To get an award for innovation from the UK travel trade is probably one of the most prestigious we can win. It shows how important the UK market is for us and that’s never wavered even during COVID.”