This award is designed to recognise and reward providers of services such as meals, sea crossings, event tickets and accommodation. We were looking for those suppliers who have made outstanding efforts to accommodate, attract, and welcome coaches, their drivers and their passengers.

This year, the award was divided into four categories, covering:

• Hotels and Catering
• Theatre and Venue Ticketing
• Tour Wholesaling
• Sea Transport/Water Crossing

This page covers the first of these, looking at Theatre and Venue Ticketing

The Results

Winners: Encore Tickets

Encore Tickets provides a unique service informed by knowledge gained from years of experience working with Coach Operators to help them get the very most out of theatre, restaurant, river cruise and attraction bookings.

Managing Director John Wales is on the board of the Coach Tourism Council and Encore works tirelessly to represent the need of Coach Operators. Now with the largest range of product ever, Encore Tickets has nutured Encore Direct, a hotel division specifically for group bookings allowing access to availability on shows and attractions, including top rates on overnight stays in London.

Over the past five years, Encore Tickets estimates that its  indemnity scheme has saved coach operators £1 million pounds.

Highly Commended:

• Group Line
• Leeds City Varieties
• Octagon Theatre, Yeovil
• Palace Theatre, Manchester

Who could be nominated?

This category was open to:

• ticketing agencies
• theatres, entertainment and concert venues

… and by whom

Coach operators were asked to nominate providers of services they have admired during the last 12 months.

They were asked to explain why they think the nominated service provider deserves this award – this covers such matters as:

• the ease of booking
• the flexibility and quality of customer service during the enquiry and booking stages
• the welcome provided on the ground to
  • the coach
  • the passengers
  • the driver