One Traveller based in Swaffham wins gold at 2020 British Travel Awards

A tour operator based in Swaffham which specialises in holidays for mature single travellers has won gold in the prestigious 2020 British Travel Awards.

One Traveller has this week been named winner of Best Singles Tour Operator category of the awards whose winners were announced on Monday at a virtual ceremony broadcast live from London.

Director Ian Darkin said: "It is an honour to receive this national award in this difficult year when travel has just not been possible.

"The public were voting on the basis of past experience and also on the customer care they received during 2020. We have worked hard to keep our guests entertained and supported with our online ‘Stay At Home’ and ‘Time to Dream’ pages that kept our guests engaged and busy planning for 2021. We look forward to turning those dreams into reality in 2021."

British Travel Awards’ chief executive Lorraine Barnes Burton said: ‘One Traveller is to be congratulated on winning the Best Singles Tour Operator in this most difficult year for the travel industry.

"Family-run One Traveller’s high level of customer care saw that it became the gold winner against much larger competitors. We’re looking ahead and forward to travelling again in 2021 and making up for lost time.”

Ian, who founded One Traveller, a family-run business in 2007, had previously worked as a tour manager for ten years, and saw that single travellers often felt marginalised or awkward when mixing with the couples who usually made up most of his groups.

Eventually, he began organising excursions for these individuals within the holiday’s free time and from there, the idea of what would later become One Traveller emerged.

The principle of all of its holidays is that guests are made to feel welcome and included, with nobody left on their own, unless they so wish. Guests are allocated double en-suite rooms in quality hotels or double en-suite cabins on all of cruises, with no single supplements to pay.

A full excursion program is included, as are most meals and drinks, and these are all escorted by knowledgeable tour managers.