The Dutch Holiday Awards 2024 were presented on Saturday evening during the Travel Gala in Hart van Holland in Nijkerk. With more than 500 guests, the gala was sold out to the last seat. This made the 2024 edition even busier than last year’s. The annual presentation of the coveted Holiday Awards, also known as the Oscars of the Dutch travel industry, was one of the highlights of the event. In addition to awards in 33 categories, there were also the Award for Travel Talent of the Year, the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Travel Personality of the Year 2024 was announced. New was the Award for Sales Person of the Year. The awards were presented by Tom van Apeldoorn of TRAVel Media. Travel Talent Aaliyah Windster, sales executive Europe at the Aruba Tourism Authority, was named Travel Talent of the Year 2024. Good-humoured, very enthusiastic and collegial. These are some of the qualifications that are characteristic of the Travel Talent of 2024, according to the jury. Hospitality and travel are in the genes of this winner. Her colleagues describe her as ‘a warm, spontaneous, goal-oriented, friendly and above all professional individual who will reach great heights in her career’. 
Photo: Aaliyah Windster.
New: Sales Person A new category this year is the Sales Person of the Year Award. This went to Rutgher Verstrepen, sales manager of Corendon. Colleagues describe him as ‘socially skilled, a good listener, persuasive, commercial and creative, a bridge builder who adapts easily to the situation’. The winner really goes ‘on’ if the difference can be made, is soft on the person and the relationship but also fair and the content. “Sincerity and trust are of great importance to this person. ‘What you see is what you get’, applies to this winner. ́ And if that’s not enough, qualifications such as result-oriented, open-minded, enterprising and attentive follow. 
Photo: Rutgher Verstrepen.Travel Personality The title of Travel Personality of the Year 2024 went to Marc van Deursen, CEO of Prijsvrij Vakanties & D-reizen. The jury: ‘The winner breathes entrepreneurship and sees opportunities and possibilities where others don’t. The combination of vision, the courage to dare to take risks and the incredible drive make this person extremely successful for years. He plans strategically and attracts new talent solely on his intuition. The people around him describe him as an emotional person and someone with a big heart for the people around him. Within the organisation, the winner inspires and offers both experienced and inexperienced employees the opportunity to grow and develop.’ 
Photo: Marc van Deursen.Lifetime Achievement Steven van der Heijden, who recently stepped down as CEO of Corendon, was rewarded with the Lifetime Achievement Award 2024. This award is only presented if there is reason to do so, and there is. After a long career of 38 years, in which he was at the helm of leading travel companies, Van der Heijden handed over his position as CEO of Corendon to Gunay Uslu at the beginning of January. He is now a member of the five-member board of directors in a non-statutory role. ‘The winner of this prestigious award knows the travel industry like no other and in detail’, according to the jury, which had only positive qualifications for Van der Heijden. A small selection: ‘A broad general development, strategic, always well-informed, skilful in discussions, candid, does not mince words, averse to vanity and in possession of a cross-sectoral insight’. After the official part, with the presentation of the awards and a four-course dinner, it was time for music. The evening ended with a spectacular performance by OG3NE. Sisters and singers Lisa, Amy and Shelley won the fifth season of The Voice of Holland in 2014 and represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. As always, DJ Hilco provided a danceable musical end to the evening. This meant that it remained restless in Nijkerk for a long time. The awards at a glance: 1.Adapted holidays: Extraordinary Travel 2.Activities & excursions: TUI Experiences 3.Airlines Short Haul: Transavia 4.Airlines Long Haul: KLM 5.Airport services: Schiphol Parking 6.Theme parks: Disneyland Paris 7.Car hire: Sunny Cars 8.Car holidays: ANWB Travel 9.Adventure holidays: Untamed Travelling 10.Sofa beds: Bedsonline 11.Bus holidays: de Jong Intra Holidays 12.Camping holidays: Suncamp (ACSI) 13.Cruise agent: Captain Cruise 14.Cruise line: Holland America Line 15.Group Travel: Sawadee Travel 16.Hotels: RIU Hotels & Resorts 17.Innovation: Vuelandia 18.Luxury Vacations: Silverjet Vacations 19.River Cruises: Feenstra Rhine Line 20.Start-up: Airtrotter 21.City Breaks: Sunair Vacations 22.Sustainability: Avila Travel 23.Technology: Amadeus 24.Train travel: NS International 25.Holiday homes: Interhome 26.Tourist office: Aruba Tourism Authority 27.Long-distance travel: Avila Travel 28.Long-distance beach holidays: TUI Netherlands 29.Insurance: Allianz Global Assistance 30.Winter sports: de Jong Intra Holidays 31.Sun holidays Greece: TUI Netherlands 32.Sun holidays Spain: TUI Netherlands 33.Sun holidays Turkey: Corendon Photo: Steven van der Heijden with Tom van Apeldoorn, publisher of TRAVel Media. (Photos by Nils van Houts/TravMagazine).
