Travel Innovation Awards 2013: The winners

Big names, rising stars and exciting newcomers came to the fore at this year’s Travel Innovation Awards 2013 ceremony at the Raffles Convention Centre, Singapore.

The awards are held in association with the EyeforTravel Travel Distribution Summit (TDS) .

The Winners:

Best Airline Website (Sponsored by Travelport)
Winner: Air New Zealand, www.airnewzealand.com
Shortlist: www.jetstar.com, www.singaporeair.com, www.airnewzealand.com

Best APAC Online Travel Agency (Sponsored by Travelport)
Winner: asiarooms.com, www.asiarooms.com
Shortlist: www.cleartrip.com, www.wotif.com, www.asiarooms.com

Best Travel Technology Supplier (Sponsored by Yatra)
Winner: Abacus, www.abacus.com.sg
Shortlist: www.hotellinksolutions.com, www.abacus.com.sg, www.perfectibe.com

Most Exciting New Startup (Sponsor, BeMyGuest)
Winner: traverik.com, www.traverik.com
Shortlist: www.lagisatu.com, www.triip.me, www.traverik.com

Best Social Media (Sponsor, BeMyGuest)
Winner: Best Job in the World, Tourism Australia
Shortlist: Scoot, Best Job in the World, Tourism Australia, Travelocity Gnome

Best Traditional Travel Agency Website (Sponsored by Yatra)
Winner: airfares.com.sg, www.airfares.com.sg
Shortlist: www.airfares.com.sg, www.travelworld.com.my, www.tristantoursandtravel.com

Best Mobile App (Sponsored by Content Farmer Travel Technology)
Winner: Skyscanner
Shortlist: Tripcase, Melbourne Urban Adventures, Skyscanner

Best Destination Website (Sponsor, BeMyGuest)
Winner: yoursingapore.com, www.yoursingapore.com
Shortlist: www.tcindia.com, www.srilankatailormade.com, www.yoursingapore.com

Best Tour Operator (Sponsored by Content Farmer Travel Technology)
Winner: remotelands.com, www.remotelands.com
Shortlist: www.thomascook.com, www.chinadiscoverytours.com, www.remotelands.com

The judges for the awards were:

TravelMole Award head judge Clement Wong, founder and chief host of BeMYGuest, said travel technology in Asia was no longer lagging a far behind Europe and the United States.

"With this year’s list of winners, the gap is closing rapidly, with any differences being just six months to a year," he said.

"Additionally, with mobile technology being the most advanced in Asia, it is not surprising to see how much travel companies are investing into this channel."

Speaking of the awards winners, Wong said: "Down Under, Australia continues its dominance in terms of social media with Tourism Australia’s Best Job in the World campaign and Air New Zealand taking the Best Airline Website."

Wong added: "Asiarooms has done very well over the past year with it brand revamp, and aggressive advertising campaigns. Abacus has ensured that the GDSs are not left behind in this web 2.0 world, by integrating mobile into its distribution strategy.

"Traverik is an up-and-coming start-up to look at, especially for travel planning. The industry focus is now not just how to get there and where to stay, but what to do when the traveller gets there.

"Airfares.com.sg is a good example of how a traditional travel agency has kept up with the times with its active social media engagement.

"Skyscanner takes the best mobile app with its easy and straightforward usability and with its heavy investments into its website, it is not surprising to see the Singapore Tourism Board taking away the best destination website with its highly visual and engaging site.

"And to round up, remotelands.com is an example of how a niche operator can really stand out by not just trying hard to sell, but also hearing from its customers through their testimonials, agents, blogs and social media network engagement."

Charles Kao, publisher of TravelMole Media Group, said: "Today’s businesses can grow only if they can innovate. Most of today’s business leaders aren’t demonstrating they’re up to the task yet, but we can all learn from and be motivated by these established and startup winners and shortlist companies.

"The pace of innovation has definitely picked-up in this, the fifth year of the TravelMole Travel Innovation Awards Asia Pacific.

"We are very proud of our association with EyeforTravel Travel Distribution Summit over these years."