Who’s the best in luxury?

Who’s the best in luxury?

Virtuoso has polished the medals and celebrated six of its pre-eminent partners in Vegas recently.

Kicking off the party at its Destination Showcase Dinner & Awards, the event, which attracted close to 1500 travel agency members and preferred suppliers, was one of many occasions at the 27th annual Virtuoso Travel Week conference.

The esteemed Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas was the host of the luxurious event, which was hosted by Virtuoso chairman and ceo Matthew Upchurch and Virtuoso’s senior vice president of global product partnerships Albert Herrera.

The Destination Showcase honoured partners that provide exceptional experiences to Virtuoso clients around the world, while simultaneously offering superior expertise to Virtuoso travel advisors.

“One of the many qualities that truly sets Virtuoso agencies and suppliers apart from the rest is the close connections they forge courtesy of this network,” Herrera said.

“These incredible relationships allow our advisors and partners to create inspired experiences tailored specifically for their shared clients. The Destination Showcase Awards are Virtuoso’s opportunity to recognize these outstanding partners for their continued innovation in luxury travel.”

Each Virtuoso partner category has an elected committee of Virtuoso advisors that selects the nominees for the awards, with the network’s travel advisors voting to decide the winners.

The winners are part of the network’s land experiences program, Virtuoso Destinations & Experiences, consisting of more than 70 tour operators and 150 On-Site in-country specialists in over 140 countries. The fast-growing portfolio features 20,000 tours from 200 land operators.

The 2015 Virtuoso Destination Showcase Award winners are:

Best Destinations & Experiences – FIT/Custom Partner: Classic Vacations

Best Destinations & Experiences – Escorted Tour Partner: Tauck

Best Destinations & Experiences – In-Country Partner: Abercrombie & Kent Kenya

Best Virtuoso Active & Specialty Travel Partner (VAST): Micato Safaris

Best Voyager Club Experience: Amber Tours | Mumbai, India: Highlights of Mumbai with Lunch at Oberoi

Tourism Board of the Year: Tourism New Zealand

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