World Travel Holdings' Brands Win Five in Prestigious 2015 Travel Weekly Magellan Awards

Online, September 15, 2015 (Newswire.com) - World Travel Holdings and its brands including CruiseOne® and Cruises Inc.®, Villas of Distinction®, and MileagePlus Cruise Awards have been recognized again this year by Travel Weekly for their industry leadership, outstanding and creative consumer marketing campaigns, industry-first innovations, an informational and engaging travel video library, and exceptional training.

"I continue to be impressed by our team of employees whom are laser-focused on creating innovative programs that enhance the positive experiences of our customers, franchisees, independent agents, suppliers and private-label partners," said Jeff Tolkin, co-chairman/CEO for World Travel Holdings. "We are honored to be recognized by Travel Weekly and other organizations as a leader in the travel industry and look forward to continuing our mission of delivering a remarkable experience to all of our stakeholders through cutting-edge programs and technologies."

CruiseOne and Cruises Inc., one of the nation's top home-based travel retail networks, received three gold awards! The first in the 'Advertising/Marketing Campaign' category was awarded for its integrated marketing campaign titled #DoYouWantToBuildASandcastle to promote vacation travel this year. The multi-faceted campaign leveraged current events and combined video marketing, public relations, social media and philanthropy. This two-week promotion resulted in a 31 percent sales increase year over year.

It's second gold in the 'Promotional Video' category is the result of a successful travel video library of more than 50 experiential videos in vlog format providing consumers a first-person look at what it's like to stay at a resort or travel on a cruise by showcasing unique destinations, various cruise lines and different experiences available on land and at sea, as well as additional background information and insider tips.

And it's third gold in the 'Training Program' category for the CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. National Conference, the pinnacle of the brands' extensive training program and among the first in the industry to take place aboard a weeklong cruise. Agents who attend National Conference historically experience a double-digit increase in performance.

Villas of Distinction won a silver award in the 'Hospitality' category for its status in the villa rental market as a leading luxury villa provider that is dedicated to creating an experience for their clients, not just booking nights at a villa, but by having a personal concierge team give the client a personalized vacation experience they desire, packaged and customized to their liking.

MileagePlus Cruise Awards also won a silver award in the 'Online Travel Services' category for its innovative, first of its kind in the industry cruise redemption program created for its private-label partner United Airlines. This industry-first technology platform gives members of United's MileagePlus loyalty program who live in the 50 United States the ability to pay for the cruise vacation of their dreams by using all miles or a combination of miles and money.

Travel Weekly's annual Magellan Awards recognize the travel industry's leaders and are judged on a 10-point performance scale. Nominees are chosen based upon appeal, design and functionality by top travel industry professionals. This is the sixth consecutive year in a row that CruiseOne & Cruises Inc. have been awarded Magellan Awards, the fifth consecutive year in a row for Villas of Distinction and a first for one of our Private Label Partnership brands.

For more information on World Travel Holdings and any of its brands please visit WorldTravelHoldings.com. World Travel Holdings is currently hiring virtual travel agents. For more information on joining this award-winning team, please visit the World Travel Holdings careers page.

About World Travel Holdings
World Travel Holdings is the world's largest cruise agency and award-winning leisure travel company with a portfolio of more than 40 diverse brands. In addition to owning some of the largest brands distributing cruises, villas, hotels, resort vacations, cars and luxury travel services, World Travel Holdings has a vast portfolio of licensed private label partnerships comprised of top leisure travel providers, including almost every U.S. airline, leading hotel brands and prominent corporations. The company also operates a top-rated travel agency franchise and the country's original host agency, and is consistently recognized as an industry leader in work-at-home employment. Its global presence includes operating multiple owned and private label cruise and vacation brands in the United Kingdom. World Travel Holdings has offices in Long Island, NY, Wilmington, Mass., Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando, Fla., Virginia Beach, Va., and Chorley, United Kingdom. For more information, visit WorldTravelHoldings.com.

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