Latest news with #RobRankin
Irish Independent
4 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Wicklow travel firm is only Irish company on exclusive list of top 15 tour operators in world
Vagabond Adventure Tours, based in Newtownmountkennedy, has won the Travel + Leisure Magazine's World's Best Award for the second time, having first claimed the title in 2023, in the prestigious 'Tour Operator' category. The prestigious magazine, based in New York, has a readership figure of 4.8 million and specialises in leisure travel, often featuring articles penned by well-known novelists, poets, artists, designers, and non-travel journalists. Its 'World's Best Awards', is an annual reader survey and have been a feature since 1995. Votes added by the magazine's readers are taken into consideration to recognize and give out the honours. Established in 2002, Vagabond Adventure Tours was founded by Rob Rankin, who had been travelling in southern Africa with his wife, Amy and was inspired by the safari and overland tours to come up with vacation tours for Ireland unlike anything that existed back then. The firm also have more relaxed 'Driftwood' package tour for those who like a more leisurely pace Commenting on the award, Rob said: 'I am delighted and excited to announce that Vagabond & Driftwood Tours — the small-group tour operator founded by myself and my wife Amy back in 2002 — has been chosen as one of the world's best once again. Travel + Leisure selected Vagabond & Driftwood Tours as one of the 15 best tour operators on the planet in 2023. 'Now, in 2025, we have again been announced as one of the best 15 tour operators in the world. We are over the moon to receive this distinguished award for the second time. We were the first tour operator in Ireland to be awarded by Travel + Leisure. And now, we are the only tour operator in Ireland to win twice. This just adds to our sense of achievement. We feel like we have won an Oscar... no wait, two Oscars! "These prestigious awards mean so much to us because we were nominated based on 100s of submissions from generous past guests. We would like to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who took the time to recommend us to Travel + Leisure. Many, many different people have contributed to our success over the years,' he said. The Wicklow tour company achieved an overall approval rating by the millions of readers of 97.32 and the award follows a major prize at the Fáilte Ireland's Employer Excellence Awards, earlier this summer. In May, the tours company took home the best employer tour operator award at the ceremony, which celebrates businesses who have demonstrated their commitment to making the tourism industry an appealing and rewarding place to work. The awards night was held at the Fitzgeralds Woodlands House Hotel and Spa, Co Limerick, and acted as a way of rewarding businesses who have participated in Fáilte Ireland's employer excellence programme.
Irish Independent
09-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Best employer award for Wicklow company providing adventure tours
The awards night was held at the Fitzgeralds Woodlands House Hotel and Spa, Co Limerick, and acted as a way of rewarding businesses who have participated in Fáilte Ireland's employer excellence programme. Vagabond Adventure Tours, based in Newtownmountkennedy, took home the best employer tour operator award at the awards ceremony. Established in 2002, Vagabond Adventure Tours was the brainchild of Rob Rankin, who had been travelling in southern Africa with his wife, Amy. While in Africa, Rob and Amy saw the safari and overland tours that were so popular there. This was an idea for an Ireland vacation tour unlike anything that existed back then. Over the years they have built an excellent reputation in the Irish tourism sector and offer active adventure tours and more relaxed tours that vary from free to 12 days long. Speaking from the awards, Fáilte Ireland CEO Paul Kelly said: 'Tourism is fundamentally a people business, and nowhere is this more evident than in Ireland, where our greatest asset is the Céad Míle Fáilte provided by tourism staff and businesses to our visitors. An engaged workforce is key to delivering successful businesses and this warm welcome to our visitors. 'The Fáilte Ireland Employer Excellence Awards celebrate the businesses that have set the industry standard for employee engagement and workplace culture. These awards will help drive further improvements in both the quality and perception of careers in the tourism sector.' As part of the programme, a survey was conducted with staff of participating businesses, which gave them the chance to highlight the strengths of their workplace, along with areas for further development. Fáilte Ireland is now supporting these businesses to implement actions identified in their survey to further enhance employee engagement. The winning businesses completed management upskilling, engaged with HR experts and were then chosen based on employee feedback. Fáilte Ireland's director of sector development Jenny De Saulles- said: 'Our latest figures show that since the programme launched in 2022, it has positively impacted 30,000 employees across the tourism sector nationwide. 'Employee engagement scores for businesses now in their third year of the programme have grown to 75pc, 8pc higher than the average across the wider employment sector, with significant improvements made in the areas of induction, reward and benefit, and management involving people in decisions affecting their jobs. 'So, it's fantastic to gather together for these awards to showcase the best-in-class examples of employers along with those professionals who are thriving in the industry.'
