Caroline van Huigenbos has once again been named best Travel Counsellor in the Netherlands. This happened during the annual international conference of Travel Counsellors in Manchester. Last year she also won the prestigious title. Sandra van den Esschert received the award for the best Travel Counsellor Belgium. The Manchester Central Convention Centre was the epicentre of the largest international conference ever organised by Travel Counsellors last weekend. With an attendance of more than 1,750 representatives worldwide, including Travel Counsellors, partners, head office employees and more than 200 suppliers, Travel Counsellors considers this edition to be extremely successful. CEO Steve Byrne emphasized the importance of personalization and the delivery of excellent customer service. Travel Counsellors plans to invest £10 million in technology over the next year to further enhance its ability to ‘provide exceptional service with a personal touch in the digital landscape’. Byrne: “Our community is building a lasting business. We can continue to win by combining technology and the power of community and being the very best we can be. Our strategy is built on three core principles: attracting like-minded talents into the community, maintaining our leadership performance, and capitalizing on the opportunity for growth in our business. And finally, further investment in technology to make us even better while maintaining a human touch.” As usual, many famous Brits passed by during the event, including documentary maker and journalist Louis Theroux. During the gala dinner on Saturday evening, awards were again presented to Travel Counsellors who had delivered exceptional achievements. Winner Caroline van Huigenbos is ‘super proud’ that she has won again. ‘This is the culmination of my work. On the night itself it was super exciting and you don’t really realize it. Only when you sit still a day later and someone says: this is really very clever and special. Only then does it dawn on you. The award is in the office with my collection and we just move on, because the best thing of all is the Travel Counsellors community, a fantastic club with positive progressive people, and organizing trips. Unburdening and arranging is simply in my DNA.’ Photo: winner Caroline van Huigenbos (middle) with Jim Eastwood (global sales director Travel Counsellors, left), Fred van Eijk (Managing Director and founder Travel Counsellors Netherlands & Belgium) and Milka van Dam (General Manager Travel Counsellors Netherlands).
