Los Angeles, CA — Five operator members of the Adventure Travel Trade Association have been honored with a TravelAge West 2015 Editor’s Pick Award for Best Tour Operator for Adventure as part of the TravelAge West WAVE (Western Agents’ Votes of Excellence) Awards. ATTA members swept the category with awards going to: Backroads, G Adventures, O.A.R.S, Wilderness Travel and Zegrahm Expeditions.
Now in its tenth year, the goal of TravelAge West’s WAVE Awards is to give travel agents in the West the opportunity to recognize the outstanding qualities and services of their travel-supplier partners.
The Editor’s Picks were chosen by Editor-in-Chief Kenneth Shapiro and the entire editorial team of TravelAge West. Review methods included product analysis, on-site visits, a survey of a select group of travel agents and online research.
“It’s really exciting to be celebrating the WAVE Awards’ 10th anniversary,” said Shapiro. “The number of awards continues to grow from year to year as we recognize new categories and new companies, but the goal remains the same: to acknowledge the favorite suppliers and destinations of Western agents.”
In addition to this distinction, Editor’s Pick honorees are also in the running for a WAVE Award, to be determined by a TravelAge West readers’ choice poll conducted during the month of April. The voting is open to readers of the print and online publication, and will be available at www.travelagewest.com/WAVE.
“While we are honored to be recognized by both OUTSIDE and TravelAge West this year, these awards definitely exceeded our expectations! In all cases our hard-working, passionate river guides and support staff made all the difference,” said Steve Markle, O.A.R.S. Director of Sales and Marketing.
Editor’s Pick recipients will be celebrated at the WAVE Awards Gala on June 11 at The Ritz-Carlton, Marina Del Rey, Calif., where the readers’ choice winners will be announced as well. TravelAge West will include a special WAVE Awards section in the July 6 issue, highlighting award winners.
TravelAge West is the leading trade magazine for travel agents and the travel industry in the 14 Western U.S. states. Serving more than 21,000 readers for 46 years, the biweekly magazine is a main source of news and product information for the region’s agents and travel executives. TravelAgeWest.com is a winner of a Gold Award from the North American Travel Journalists Association for Best Travel Journalism Website. TravelAge West is a part of Northstar Travel Media LLC, a worldwide provider of information, news and data for the travel and hospitality industry. Northstar Travel Media is based in Secaucus, N.J.