Independent adventure tour operator Tucan Travel was voted Small Tour Operator of the Year against stiff competition at the prestigious British Travel Awards - widely held to be the ‘Oscars' of the UK travel industry.

(TRAVPR.COM) London, UK - 19th November, 2009 - tens of thousands of voters took part in the open voting, including travellers, travel agents and other industry partners. The accolade coincides with the launch of the Tucan Travel's new 2010-11 worldwide brochure, which has just reached the shelves of travel agents around the world.

Managing director Matt Gannan was absolutely thrilled to take the stage to pick up the award on behalf of the company. "What a night, to be nominated in seven categories and pick up the grandest prize of all, Small Tour Operator of the Year. It's a tremendous achievement and shows what a great dedicated team we have at Tucan Travel and how well we are perceived and appreciated by our clients and industry partners. The voters have spoken and we wholeheartedly thank them for their support."

"We hope that travellers and agents will be encouraged to take a closer look at our newly launched worldwide brochure as a result of the award," Mr Gannan said.

The new look brochure features an exciting new range of tours to Eastern Europe including the little known Balkans and Baltic States, as well as a selection of Independent Travel stopovers and packages to worldwide destinations. With more than 450 group tours and independent travel packages to 72 countries worldwide, plus new information pages detailing special events and excursions, Tucan Travel's new worldwide brochure offers a convenient ‘one-stop-shop' for travel agents and travellers alike.

Bec Whiffin, general manager for UK & Europe said agents would be pleased to see their favourite adventures back by popular demand, with many itineraries updated and enhanced. "We've put a concentrated effort into listening to our passenger, crew and agent feedback, refining and perfecting our current tour itineraries and operations based on their recommendations. Many of our tours have added value now with new included excursions, while others have been modified to take advantage of changes in local conditions, such as our changes to tours in Colombia, which will now travel overland in our own vehicles, rather than flying internally. We are sure changes like this will prove popular in 2010," she said.

About Tucan Travel

Passionate about adventure travel since 1987, Tucan Travel offers more than 450 exciting and affordable escorted group tours, independent travel packages and expedition cruises to destinations worldwide, including Europe, the Middle East & North Africa, Asia & Russia, East & Southern Africa, Latin America & Antarctica. With six distinct travel styles offering varying levels of comfort, there's an adventure to suit any traveller.

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