The award was one of 12 that are designed to recognise excellence, rising stars and outstanding achievement across the youth travel industries of the UK.

Volunteering and education companies, accommodation groups and tour operators are among the members of BETA, which works to raise the profile of the country’s youth travel sector and build a business community.

Kaya Responsible Travel picked up Best Volunteering Organisation while Latin America worked hard to prove it deserved best international youth destination and Wales was voted top performer in the UK youth destination category.

“We are absolutely thrilled to win a British Youth Travel Award,” said Jason Andrews at Kingswood, which is a sister brand of Inspiring Learning.

He added, “We strive to deliver powerful learning opportunities through outdoor adventure experiences, and this is wonderful recognition of our work.”

Other winners included Nick Steiert, CEO of tour company Invasion.com which has expanded rapidly since he founded it as a law student in 2008. He was named Rising Star, while new company Mrs Potts, an boutique hostel in Cardiff, was awarded Best Accommodation for its creative brand and vision.

A diverse panel of judges included The PIE’s Amy Baker.  She said, “Each shortlisted entry impressed a diverse range of knowledgeable judges from the study travel and youth travel industries, and clearly demonstrated exceptional performance in a range of requested criteria.” 

Nominees collected their awards at a ceremony at London’s Ham Yard Hotel this month.

Runners up in the Best Educational Product category were The Dragon Trip which organises tours in China and Oxford Royale Academy, which offers structured, academic-oriented study programmes for international students.