Three trade-friendly travel brands that continue to stand the test of time
James ChappleWhat is it that makes a truly great travel brand? Is it great customer service? Years of experience and pooled expertise? Fantastic value and flexibility?
It’s a question the team at consumer champion Which? Travel ask themselves every year when it comes to bestowing its coveted recommended provider status on the industry’s best and brightest.
Jet2 has claimed the limelight in recent years; the airline and operator has been named Which? Travel Brand of the Year for the past two years and tops Which?’s ranking of beach/resort holiday providers.
But Jet2 are the new kids on the block, and have some way to go to match several other venerable trade-friendly brands whose recommendations from Which? Travel date back not just years, but decades.
So as Which? Travel marks its 50th anniversary this month, TTG casts an eye over some of Which? Travel’s long-standing recommended operators, all of whom continue to live up to the reputation that earned them their plaudits in the first place.
Inghams
First recommended: 1976; current customer score: 81%
Inghams' founder, Walter Ingham (pictured), is credited as "the man who took Britain skiing". He advertised his first Christmas Party Ski Holiday to Austria in the Daily Telegraph in 1934, and thus Inghams was born.
Ingham would organise food, transport, accommodation, equipment hire and instruction for guests – inadvertently pioneering not just the ski holiday, but also the package holiday. It's a formula that's barely changed some 90 years later.
The company later expanded into walking holidays, and today offers a wide range of winter and summer breaks to Austria, France, Italy, Switzerland, Slovenia and Andorra.
Inghams featured in Which? Travel's first tour operator ranking in its 1974 launch issue, alongside the lines of Thomson (now Tui) and Thomas Cook. Two years later was rated "significantly better than average".
It has for the most part remained in the top half of this table ever since, and in 2019 was finally awarded Which? recommended provider status.
The operator last year renewed its focus on its summer holiday proposition with a new Inghams Walking brand, hopeful of tapping into "a gap in the market for single or two-centre" day walking holidays.
Which? said the brand was continuing to innovate, highlighting new additions for 2024 such Madeira.
Kuoni
First recommended: 1983; current customer score: 84%
Kuoni had been selling holidays in Switzerland for nearly 60 years by the time it set up shop in London in 1965, and claims a number of travel industry firsts.
The brand operated the UK's first charter flight in 1970, was an early adopter of a computerised reservations system in 1980, and in 1999 was the first operator in the UK to offer online booking.
It first made the pages of Which? in 1975 a year after launching its first long-haul programme, and earned its first recommendation from Which? in 1983.
Kuoni was a consistent Which? recommended top performer in the 1990s for long-haul, and is currently Which?'s top family holiday provider. It also shares top spot in its ranking of beach/resort holiday providers with Jet2holidays.
"Superb customer service is what sets Kuoni apart," said Which?. "Customers consistently tell us its agents really listen to what you want, and do everything they can to tailor-make your perfect trip."
Sunvil
First recommended: 1997; current customer score: 83%
Sunvil started as a property company, selling villas and apartments in Cyprus, before hitting on the idea in the early-1970s of organising self-catering holidays so buyers could monetise their properties.
It helped establish the self-catering villa market in Cyprus, and soon expanded to Greece. The business is a founder member of Aito, which co-founder Noel Josephides (pictured) previously chaired, and regularly featured among Which?'s top operators for Greece and beach breaks.
The business remains independently owned, and is a Which? recommended provider in a new category for small/independent holiday companies, with readers continuing to rate the operator strongly for the quality of its accommodation, organisation and customer service.
And while still a Greece and Cyprus specialist, Sunvil has expanded its portfolio to include Italy, Spain, Portugal and its islands, as well as Latin America – launching Cuba late last year.
It continues to be known for introducing guests to the "real country" thanks to its focus on lesser-known destinations.
Others standing the test of time include National Trust Holidays, first recommended in 1975 and with a current customer score of 84%, and Brittany Ferries Holidays, first recommended in 1989 and with a current customer score of 81%.
First published as Holiday Which?, the magazine rebranded to Which? Travel in 2011.
In its earliest days, Which?'s researchers journeyed to popular holiday destinations where they inspected hundreds of hotels to see if firms' claims in their brochures held true.
The magazine also lobbied for the Package Travel Regulations, which underpin key statutory protections for travellers, as well as health and safety reforms.
'Gold standard'
Rory Boland, Which? Travel editor, said: "Helping consumers know who to trust with their holiday plans has been an integral part of the magazine’s mission from its very earliest days, and our rigorous approach has made Which? Recommended Provider endorsements the gold standard for travel providers.
"It’s something of an understatement to say the travel industry has changed over the last fifty years, so it’s a remarkable feat to see these five companies continuing to impress us and our readers in 2024, as they have done in decades gone by."
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