Outstanding contributors in the youth and student travel industry were celebrated on Friday, 21 September during the 2018 Global Youth Travel Awards (GYTA). Winners of the 14 GYTA award categories, including 10 nominated and four consumer-voted awards, were announced at a gala dinner during the 2018 World Youth and Student Travel Conference (WYSTC) held in Edinburgh, Scotland.
This year's judges chose from an extremely high calibre of entries, including very competitive submissions in two of its newest categories: Best Social Space in a Hostel and Best Sustainable Tour Operator.
WYSE Travel Confederation’s Director General said the quality of entries for these categories demonstrates a very clear stance to not only meet the changing needs of young people, but also the very urgent and pressing needs of society and the environment.
David Chapman said, "The entries received for this iteration of the awards were outstanding and really demonstrated the exceptional initiatives and innovative ideas currently occurring in the realm of youth travel.”
The 2018 Global Youth Travel Award winners are:
Nominated Categories
- Best Education Abroad Provider: Greenheart International
- Best Marketing Campaign: Tourism Australia
- Best Social Responsibility Initiative: G Adventures
- Best Social Space in a Hostel: Abraham Hostel Tel Aviv
- Best Sustainable Tour Operator: G Adventures
- Best Travel Safety Initiative: Travello App
- Best Travel Tech Product: CultureMee
- Extraordinary Experience: SAVE Foundation
- Outstanding Volunteer Project: Global Vision International
- Best Work Experience Provider: Peterpans Travel Group
Consumer-voted categories
- Best Youth Travel Accommodation: Generator Hostels
- Best Youth Travel Agent: StudentUniverse
- Best Youth Travel Airline: Qatar Airways
- Best Youth Tour Operator: Rustic Pathway