Starting with an Emirates flight to Dublin, the winners of the Travellers Choice annual Gold Choice awards took to the air to start their 10-day tour of Ireland, England and Europe.
Following the ‘Wild Atlantic Way’ tourist trail, the agents travelled through Donegal, Sligo and Galway, along the way cruising beneath the Slieve League Cliffs (Europe's highest sea cliffs), golfing at the notoriously difficult County Sligo links course (founded in 1894), and paying their respects at the beautiful Benedictine monastery, Kylemore Abbey.
Back in Dublin the agents attended tasting tours of the Guinness Storehouse (Ireland's number one visitor attraction) and the Old Jameson Distillery, and lunched with Ireland's Tourism Minister at the Dublin Horse Show. Ireland, Great Britain, France and Sweden were represented, but it was the team ‘Born in the USA’ – which included Bruce Springsteen’s daughter as one of its members – that finished top at the end of the day.
Travellers Choice CEO Christian Hunter says one of the highlights of the journey was the group’s bus driver Patrick, who added a uniquely Irish flavour.
“One of the agents asked if Patrick could turn off the air-conditioning because everyone was getting cold,” Christian said. “He turned around and shouted "put a coat on". The air conditioning stayed on, with the coach in fits of laughter.”
Stopping over in London, the agents experienced shopping at Harrods, a trip on the London Eye and an evening at the theatre to see the award-winning play War Horse.
The group was also fortunate enough to receive tickets to the 2014 Community Shield soccer match at Wembley Stadium courtesy of Etihad Airways. The match featured Manchester City and a victorious Arsenal. Jamison Travels’, Michelle Everson was fortunate enough to share a post-match discussion in a local pub with one friendly but inebriated Manchester City fan.
Under the impression the Travellers Choice group had flown all the way from Australia just to watch the match, the City fan kept apologising for his team’s performance.
Everson explained that when she made the mistake of mentioning Machester United the “red rivals”, it sent him on a 45 minute rant.
Everson tried wrapping things up by asking, “where is your wife?”, in which he replied “oh ‘she's at home, she goes for United!”
Then boarding the legendary Venice Simplon Orient-Express, the group were in for an unforgettable 1920’s-style overnight journey to Venice showcasing picturesque scenery and five-star cuisine. Once in Venice, the group enjoyed a relaxing tour of St. Mark's Square, the Basilica and the Doge's Palace, along with a cruise down the Grand Canal.
Travellers Choice presents Gold, Silver and Bronze Choice Awards (10 in each category) each year at its Annual Shareholders’ Conference, with winners determined by their level of support for strategic suppliers.
