The winners of the 2023 Readers Choice Awards

NEW YORK -- Travel Weekly honored the winners of its 21st annual Readers' Choice Awards at a black-tie gala dinner and ceremony on Dec. 13 at the American Museum of Natural History here.

The awards represent what Travel Weekly's audience of travel advisors considers the best of the best in 84 categories of travel

An open ballot phase of the voting was conducted during the summer, and readers were invited to write in the names of any company they believed best exemplified a particular category. The leading vote recipients were identified as finalists, and a second round of voting on those names took place in the fall. The finalists were featured in Travel Weekly on Dec. 4.

Travel Weekly also honored several industry executives with Lifetime Achievement Awards. This year's recipients are Ignacio Maza, the executive vice president of Signature Travel Network, Alison Taylor, the senior vice president and chief customer officer of American Airlines and Mark Conroy, the senior cruise line executive of Silversea; Travel Weekly also posthumously recognized Vicky Garcia, the cruise executive and COO of Cruise Planners who died in 2022, with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Travel Weekly Sustainability Award was given to Intrepid Travel. 

Travel Weekly's 2023 Readers' Choice winners are:

Best in Airlines

  • Domestic: Delta Air Lines
  • International: United Airlines
  • Business/First Class: Emirates
  • Premium Economy Class: Delta Air Lines
  • Global Network: United Airlines
  • Sales & Service: Delta Air Lines
  • Airline Overall: Delta Air Lines

Best in Car Rentals

  • Domestic: Enterprise Rent-A-Car
  • International: Hertz

Best in Hotel Chains

  • Domestic: Marriott International
  • Asia: IHG Hotels & Resorts
  • Caribbean: Sandals Resorts
  • Europe: IHG Hotels & Resorts
  • Mexico: Inclusive Collection, Part of World of Hyatt
  • Hawaii/South Pacific: Marriott International
  • All-Inclusive: Sandals Resorts
  • Luxury: Ritz-Carlton Hotels & Resorts
  • Boutique: Karisma Hotels & Resorts
  • Sales & Service: Marriott International
  • Hotel Group Overall: Marriott International 

Best Resort Worldwide

  • St. Regis Bora Bora

Best in Tour Operators

  • Domestic, Packaged: Delta Vacations
  • Domestic, Escorted: Collette
  • International: Globus
  • Adventure: Adventures by Disney
  • Africa: Abercrombie & Kent
  • Asia/Pacific: Pleasant Holidays
  • Canada: Collette
  • Caribbean: Apple Vacations
  • Europe: Globus
  • Hawaii: Pleasant Holidays
  • Mexico: Funjet Vacations
  • Luxury: Abercrombie & Kent
  • Group, Packaged: Funjet Vacations
  • Escorted Sales & Service: Globus
  • Packaged Sales & Service: Delta Vacations
  • Escorted Overall: Globus
  • Packaged Overall: Funjet Vacations

Best in Cruise Lines

  • Domestic: Carnival Cruise Line
  • Alaska: Princess 
  • Antarctica: Seabourn
  • Caribbean: Royal Caribbean International
  • Europe: Celebrity Cruises
  • Hawaii/Pacific: Norwegian Cruise Line
  • Under 500 Berths: Windstar Cruises
  • Under 1,000 Berths: Seabourn
  • Premium: Celebrity Cruises
  • Luxury: Regent Seven Seas Cruises
  • Expedition: Viking
  • World Cruise Itinerary: Holland America Line
  • Family: Carnival Cruise Line
  • Cuisine: Oceania Cruises
  • Entertainment: Royal Caribbean International
  • Private Island/Destination: CocoCay, Royal Caribbean International
  • Group Program: Carnival Cruise Line
  • Shipboard Tech: Princess
  • Short Itinerary: Carnival Cruise Line
  • Sales & Service: Royal Caribbean International
  • Overall: Royal Caribbean International
  • River Cruise Line, Cuisine: AmaWaterways
  • River Cruise Line, Sales & Service: Viking
  • River Cruise Line, Overall: AmaWaterways

Best in Cruise Ships

  • River Cruising: AmaMagna, AmaWaterways
  • New River Cruise Ship: Viking Gersemi, Viking
  • New: Norwegian Prima, Norwegian Cruise Line
  • Premium: Celebrity Beyond, Celebrity Cruises
  • Luxury: Silver Moon, Silversea
  • Overall: Wonder of the Seas, Royal Caribbean International

Best in Destinations

  • Africa: South Africa
  • Asia/Pacific: Australia
  • Canada: Vancouver
  • Caribbean: Saint Lucia
  • Central/South America: Costa Rica
  • Europe: Ireland 
  • Hawaii: Maui
  • Mexico: Los Cabos
  • U.S. State: Hawaii
  • U.S. City: Las Vegas

Best Travel Advisor Educational Program

  • Princess Academy, Princess

Best Advisor Loyalty Program

  • Princess

Best Rail Vacation

  • Rocky Mountaineer

Best Travel Technology Provider

  • VAX VacationAccess

Best Insurance Provider

  • Allianz Global Assistance

Best Theme Park

  • Walt Disney World 

Correction: A previous version of this report gave an incorrect name for Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the winner of the Domestic Car Rental category. The original version had listed Enterprise Mobility, which is the name of Enterprise Rent-A-Car's parent company.

The listing for best resort worldwide was incorrectly given -- it is the St. Regis Bora Bora.


JDS Travel News JDS Viewpoints JDS Africa/MI