For the ninth consecutive year, the World Travel Awards, the prestigious awards ceremony that acknowledges significant achievements in all areas of the travel and tourism industry, has named Visa the “World’s Leading Credit Card.”
The prize was awarded based on a worldwide online poll of travel agencies and frontline travel agents. Criteria used in evaluating companies and organizations include scope of distribution, convenience, and overall best services.
“Visa is delighted to receive this award on behalf of its 20,000 member banks,” says Tom Shepard, executive vice president, Global Marketing Partnerships and Sponsorships, Visa International. “Visa continues to grow with the travel industry, working with merchants by providing merchants with access to millions of Visa cardholders and providing cardholders with unsurpassed acceptance worldwide. In addition, through travel and entertainment programs linked to Visa payment cards, cardholders receive added value that goes beyond the convenience and confidence that Visa provides. We are honored to receive this accolade from one of the industry’s most important awards programs.”
The online voting took place throughout 2006 at www.worldtravelawards.com. This enabled over 167,000 travel agents and professionals in over 200 countries worldwide the opportunity to let the world know who they think are the best in the travel industry. The winner was chosen from the following payment cards - American Express, Diner's Club, JCB, MasterCard and Visa.
“Visa has won ‘World’s Leading Credit Card’ for nine years running, maintaining its position consistently over this period,” says president and founder of the World Travel Awards, Graham Cooke.
“The awards take into account the views of tens of thousands of travel agents and professionals worldwide – over two million votes are cast during our five-month independent survey period and the fact that no-one has been able to knock Visa from the top spot for nearly a decade, is testament that it has a credit card offering that is unbeatable. This is due to Visa’s continued focus on excellence and value-added services for travelers, such as its innovative online travel portal.
“Since founding the World Travel Awards in 1993, we have seen a growing sophistication in the travel and tourism trade and increased competition. Our winners have always been at the forefront of this process with their initiatives and products and Visa is one of these companies. This year’s winners are no different, even with soaring oil prices and terrorist threats, our winners have continued to survive and thrive -- they've seen challenges as opportunities and led the way for the industry.
"Voted for independently by travel professionals worldwide, our award winners are having a major impact and influence on the world’s travel and tourism industry. They are the true innovators and benchmarks for our trade, especially in the areas of customer service, technology, operational efficiency, product offering and style,” explains Cooke.
Established in 1993, the World Travel Awards held its 13th annual World Travel Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, 20 September 2006, at Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort and Spa, Providenciales. The World Travel Awards honors leading travel-related organizations in worldwide and regional categories, which range from airlines, hotels, beaches and cruise lines to credit cards, car rental companies and hotel reservation services.
Visa International is a strategic partner with many of the leading global corporations and merchants, creating retail and T&E promotions that deliver extraordinary values to Visa cardholders worldwide. Visa's extensive merchant relationships and marketing partnerships, as well as its unsurpassed acceptance around the world, are driving Visa's growth in the retail and T&E arenas.
Visa also has created an innovative, interactive, online travel portal, “Visa Destinations,” which provides Visa cardholders with exclusive offers and values from a select group of global travel, retail and entertainment merchants. Featuring a wide range of valuable offers and information, this user-friendly travel planning website can be accessed at www.visadestinations.com. The site contains retail, travel and entertainment offers from hundreds of merchants in key destination markets or by designated category around the world.
For more information on the 2006 World Travel Awards or for a complete list of winners, visit www.WorldTravelAwards.com .
About Visa International
Visa International is a partnership of 21,000 member banks. These banks have issued over a billion Visa cards worldwide on which US$4 trillion per year is spent across over 150 countries.
Visa’s role is to provide payment solutions for its member banks, enabling them to issue cards and process merchants’ Visa card transactions. The Visa products issued by the banks are safer, more convenient and more efficient than cash. Furthermore, they help to bring people into the banking system and to increase the funds available for commercial loans, the lifeblood of a growing economy.
