ENTRIES HAVE OPENED FOR THE GLOBAL YOUTH TRAVEL AWARDS 2016

WYSE Travel Confederation has opened entries for the 2016 Global Youth Travel Awards (GYTAs), in partnership with Destination Canada and International Experience Canada.

The awards, which recognise outstanding performers in the youth, student and educational travel industry, feature 14 categories this year. These categories include: Extraordinary Experience, Best Marketing Campaign, Outstanding Volunteer Project, Best Social Responsibility Initiative and Best Education Abroad Provider.

Four categories – Best Youth Travel Accommodation, Best Youth Travel Airline, Best Youth Travel Agent and Best Youth Tour Operator – are voted for by travellers themselves.

David Chapman, Director General of WYSE Travel Confederation, said:

“Despite the unsettled nature of travel as a whole, with terrorism and political unrest halting tourism in some areas, youth travel remains resilient.

Not only do young people continue to travel during difficult times, the agencies and organisations helping them also continue to offer new products and services that meet the needs of young travellers.

WYSE Travel Confederation invites all youth and student travel organisations to enter their best products, services, partnerships and experiences in this year’s Global Youth Travel Awards so that our global community can recognise innovation and advancement in youth travel this year. Good luck!”

The awards will be presented during a gala dinner that will bring WYSTC 2016 in Belgrade, Serbia to a close on Friday, 23 September 2016.

To find out more about the Global Youth Travel Awards 2016 and to enter, visit http://awards.wystc.org. Entries are free and close on Monday, 22 August 2016.

About WYSTC

• The World Youth and Student Travel Conference – known as WYSTC – is the youth travel industry’s leading global event.
• WYSTC combines the chance to connect and trade with over 600 delegates with the opportunity to learn from industry experts and discuss critical government policy issues through a comprehensive programme of meetings, workshops and presentations.
• With travel professionals gathering from more than 450 businesses and 120 countries for trading, seminars, networking and industry think tanks, the annual conference is considered a must for any business already operating in or looking to enter this booming market worth almost USD 250 billion.
• In addition to nightly networking events, the Global Youth Travel Awards are hosted on the final evening to honour the outstanding performers serving the youth, student and educational travel industry (#GYTA2016).
• For more information, visit www.wystc.org or follow the event on Twitter, (#WYSTC2016), Facebook and LinkedIn.

About WYSE Travel Confederation

• The World Youth Student and Educational (WYSE) Travel Confederation is a global not-for-profit membership organisation dedicated to promoting and accelerating the development of opportunities for the youth, student and educational travel industry.
• Founded in 2006 and created from the merger of the Federation of International Youth Travel organisations (FIYTO) and the International Student Travel Confederation (ISTC) the Confederation brings together 60 years of youth travel expertise.
• WYSE Travel Confederation is endorsed by UNESCO and is a long-standing Affiliate Member of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), with whom it has a strategic partnership for joint projects that support the youth, student and educational travel sector.
• Providing international travel experiences to over 30 million youth and students each year, WYSE Travel Confederation’s global community of over 800 members spans more than 120 countries from a diverse range of sectors.
• Members may take advantage of niche-specific expertise and trading opportunities, from adventure tour operators to au pair agencies, cultural exchange programmes to language schools, hop-on-hop-off buses to student insurance and youth hostels to volunteer programmes.
• WYSE Travel Confederation is committed to understanding the ever-changing characteristics, motivations and needs of young travellers. By gathering, analysing and sharing important market intelligence with members, academics and government decision-makers, the unique fast-changing needs of the youth market is at the forefront of its activities as it seeks to accelerate the development of youth travel.
• For more information, visit www.wysetc.org or follow the organisation on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.