An Oakham travel agent has jointly-won an award in the Travel Weekly Agent Achievement Awards.

Your Co-op Travel, which is inside Your Co-op Food, Burley Road, saw success in London last week as part of the 76-branch Your Co-op Travel, owned by the Midcounties Co-operative.

The Travel Weekly annual Agent Achievement Awards are regarded as the highest honour in the industry for both individual travel agents and agencies.

This year's awards were the first to be held since the start of the pandemic and were designed to honour those travel agencies and travel agents who have truly represented the best of the industry over the past 18 months.

Hosted by comedian, Tom Allen, and Travel Weekly editor-in-chief, Lucy Huxley, at a glittering awards ceremony in London, the winners are selected based on voting by travel industry suppliers including tour operators, airlines, cruise lines and tourist boards.

The news of the award-win was followed by a government announcement on 17 September that the traffic light system is to be simplified from 4 October, with just two categories – "red" and "rest of the world" – which will provide a higher degree of clarity for travellers and a welcome boost for the tourism industry.

Additionally, from 4 October fully-vaccinated travellers will no longer be required to take a test before returning to the UK, and the expensive "day-2" PCR test will be replaced with a cheaper, lateral flow option towards end October, removing two significant barriers for holidaymakers.

Natalie Turner, Head of Branches for Your Co-op Travel, said: "We are absolutely thrilled to have been named Central England Large Agency of the Year for the eighth year running.

"It's been a challenging 18 months for our colleagues but the service and support they have given to their customers throughout the pandemic has been unwavering. This award is testament to their passion, resilience, and expertise.

"The government shake-up of the traffic light system and testing requirements for fully-vaccinated holidaymakers, the news of which came hot on the heels of our award-win, has given us all a boost too.

"That, along with the news of more destinations being moved off the government's "red" list, including the Maldives, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Egypt and Oman, and the US announcing on Monday (20 September) that it will lift the ban on Brits visiting from November, if they are fully vaccinated, gives holidaymakers a wider choice of destination, particularly for an autumn or winter-sun escape."

Natalie continued: "We saw a 58 per cent jump in holiday bookings on Monday 20 September, compared with the previous Monday, with Turkey leading the way for October half-term getaways, followed by the Canary Islands and Spain. We also took several bookings to the Maldives, following the news that the paradise destination will come off the "red" list from 22 September."

She also warned: "We advise anyone looking to travel to book through a travel agent, who can give them all the information they need, including where they can go and what testing and documentation they will need.

"Customers should remember that just because a country is on the UK government's "go" list, this doesn't mean the destination is viable for a British traveller taking a holiday. Some countries still won't allow visitors from the UK in, either at all or without a significant period of quarantine on arrival. An experienced travel agent can navigate holidaymakers through the rules and regulations that are relevant to their vaccination status and ensure the holiday is a success."

For more information on Your Co-op Travel, please go to a local branch, visit www.cooptravel.co.uk or call 01922 908 389.