Magazine: Collette among top tour operators

PAWTUCKET – Travel agents in the western United States have chosen Collette Vacations as one of the nation’s top tour operators.
TravelAge West magazine in its 2011 Editor’s Picks awards cited Collette as one of the country’s five-best tour operators in two categories, escorted tours and United States/Canada tours.
Now in its sixth year, the awards program provides travel agents in the West the opportunity to recognize “the outstanding qualities and services of their travel-supplier partners,” the magazine said in a prepared release.
The publication’s editorial staff chooses the Editor’s Picks through analysis, on-site visits, online research and surveys of selected travel-agent groups. “The companies acknowledged with our Editor’s Picks designation provide travelers with truly exceptional experiences,” said Ken Shapiro, editor-in-chief.
In addition, the honorees also are in the running for a Western Agents Voice of Excellence (WAVE) Award, to be determined by a TravelAge West readers’ poll conducted in April. Voting is open to readers of the publication, as well as visitors to the magazine’s website, TravelAgeWest.com.
Recipients of the “Editor’s Picks” awards will be recognized at the WAVE Awards dinner June 2 in Los Angeles, when the winners of the readers’ choice awards will be announced. The magazine will publish a special edition in June to highlight each of the honored companies.
TravelAge West is a biweekly magazine that has served the travel industry in 14 states for 42 years and is part of Northstar Travel Media LLC, a provider of information for the hospitality industry based in Secaucus, N.J.
Other Editor’s Picks for best escorted tour operator were: Globus Family of Brands; Insight Vacations; Tauck and Trafalgar Tours and, for best tour operator in the U.S. and Canada, Globus Family of Brands; Tauck; Travel Bound and Travel Impressions.