Best of the 2019 Travvy Awards

The fifth annual Travvy Awards were held inside New York City's Gotham Hall on January 23, 2019, after travel agents cast more than 130,000 votes to determine the industry's best and brightest.

The travel industry was once again well-represented at the 2019 Travvy Awards as nearly 280 awards were handed out.

Despite a recent injury, travAlliancemedia president and CEO Mark Murphy took to the stage again in 2019 to kick off the awards ceremony and set the tone for what always turns out to be a fun and memorable evening.

Sky Bird Travel & Tours CEO Akshay Shah was thrilled to accept the Silver Travvy for Best Airline Consolidator Overall while Centrav took home Gold.

Royal Caribbean International had the best night of all the cruise lines that were honored, winning Gold in a plethora of coveted categories, including the all-important Best Cruise Line Overall.

Holland America Line won a handful of Travvys itself, including Gold for Special Needs and Silver for Best Premium Cruise Line.

Enticing Aruba was recognized as the Best Cruise Destination in the Caribbean/Bahamas (Gold) and the Best Culinary Destination in the Caribbean/Bahamas (Silver). It also received the Silver Travvy for the region's Best Tourism Board and Best Wedding Destination in the Caribbean/Bahamas.

Jamaica secured Gold Travvys for Best Culinary Destination in the Caribbean/Bahamas, Best Wedding Destination in the Caribbean/Bahamas, Best Honeymoon Destination in the Caribbean/Bahamas and Best Tourism Board in the Caribbean/Bahamas.

Jamaica's Minister of Tourism, the Honorable Edmund Bartlett received the inaugural Chairman's Award for Global Tourism Innovation. Communications strategist Delano Seiveright accepted the award on Bartlett's behalf.

RANGE a cappella returned in 2019 to provide the live entertainment at intermission.

The New York City-based pop group performed some crowd favorites, including "Circle of Life" from Disney's The Lion King.

AmaWaterways owned the River Cruise category, winning Gold for River Cruise Line Overall as well as Africa/Egypt, Asia and Europe. The cruise line's AmaLea also won Gold for Best River Cruise Ship.

Villas of Distinction, which offers unique luxury villas in coveted destinations all over the globe, was honored with the Gold Travvy for Best Villa Rental Company Overall and Best Luxury Vacation Packager.

One of the event sponsors in 2019, Allianz Global Assistancecelebrated after taking home the Gold Travvy for Best Travel Insurance Provider Overall.

It was another big night for Crystal Cruises, which won Gold for Best Luxury Cruise Line and Silver for Best Luxury Cruise Ship (Crystal Symphony) and Best Cruise Ship Overall (Crystal Serenity).

Travel Impressions and Funjet Vacations dominated the Vacation Packager category, combining to win more than a dozen Travvy awards.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car won Gold for Best Car Rentals Overall, Best Domestic Car Rentals, Best Luxury/Exotic Fleet and Best Car Rental Website.

The Gold Travvy awards for Best Host Agency and Best Host Agency Website went to Avoya Travel.

Abercrombie & Kent likely had a tough time keeping track of all of its Travvys. The tour operator won Gold for Best Luxury Escorted Tour Operator and Best Escorted Tour Operator for Africa as well as Silver for Best Escorted Tour Operator Overall and Best Tour Guides.

Whitney Ramirez of Trafalgar & Brendan Vacations was one of the many deserving winners to show off some new hardware at the ceremony.

"The Travvy's are the Oscars of the travel industry," said travAlliancemedia President and CEO Mark Murphy. "This year, a record number of votes were cast to honor the best of the best in travel. Travel agents-the people who actively book and provide insight to millions of travelers every year-are the ones who cast the votes, helping set the Travvy's apart from every other award."

Murphy posed with some of this year's winners, many of which are likely to be back again in 2020, along with some impressive newcomers.