Family Ties: Building Strong Relationships at Home

On a beautiful New York City evening, the team at FXExpress Publications, Inc., which includes Global Traveler, Trazee Travel and WhereverFamily, gathered at City Vineyard at Pier 26 to celebrate the Wherever Awards — an annual recognition of the best in family travel as chosen by readers of whereverfamily.com.

With the sound of steel drums in the background, attendees enjoyed City Vineyard’s wines while announcing and honoring the winners of the 2019 Wherever Awards. Balloting ran on whereverfamily.com from September 2018 through March 2019, with winners revealed in September 2019.

Below is a recap of the winners as they accepted their awards.

For the first time, WhereverFamily presented the Family Traveler of the Year award to Rainer Jenss, president and founder of the Family Travel Association. Jenss left a role at National Geographic to spend a year traveling the world with his wife and two sons, home-schooling the children on the road and successfully reintegrating them into school upon return. Inspired by that experience, he founded the Family Travel Association to encourage families to travel together to strengthen relationships and broaden global perspectives.

WhereverFamily will host an online travel auction in February 2020 to benefit the KAI Foundation. Established in 2015, the KAI Foundation supports projects that give future generations greater opportunities by improving access to quality health care and education in underserved communities. Its first initiative was a maternity ward in Mugarameno, Zambia, built in December 2016 to serve a community of more than 20,000 people. Since opening, the facility has delivered nearly 200 babies and has demonstrated such impact that the Zambian government assigned a doctor to support the on-site nurse. The foundation’s approach emphasizes working with local partners to ensure resources are applied effectively.

In early 2020, the KAI Foundation will begin a project to support a school near Siem Reap, Cambodia. The current building is too small for the roughly 200 students enrolled and lacks basic supplies. Destination Asia will co-manage the Cambodia project.

Congratulations to the 2019 Wherever Award winners. Readers are encouraged to vote for their family-travel favorites each year; voting runs through March on whereverfamily.com.

WINNERS’ CIRCLE

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY DOMESTIC AIRLINE
1. American Airlines
2. Delta Air Lines
3. Hawaiian Airlines
4. United Airlines
5. Alaska Airlines

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY AIRLINE IN NORTH AMERICA
1. Air Canada
2. American Airlines
3. Delta Air Lines
4. United Airlines
5. Alaska Airlines

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY INTERNATIONAL AIRLINE
1. TAP Air Portugal
2. Delta Air Lines
3. Alaska Airlines
4. Air New Zealand
5. American Airlines

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY FREQUENT-FLYER PROGRAM
1. Air Canada Aeroplan
2. United MileagePlus
3. American Airlines AAdvantage
4. Delta SkyMiles
5. Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY HOTEL CHAIN
1. The Ritz-Carlton
2. Holiday Inn Club Vacations
3. Hyatt Hotels and Resorts
4. Westin Hotels & Resorts
5. Sheraton

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY RESORT CHAIN
1. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
2. Hyatt Hotels and Resorts
3. InterContinental Hotels & Resorts
4. Crowne Plaza
5. Westin Hotels & Resorts

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY INDIVIDUAL HOTEL
1. Atlantis Paradise Island Resort, Bahamas
2. Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World
3. Atlantis The Palm, Dubai
4. LEGOLAND Feriendorf, Günzburg, Germany
5. Beaches Negril Resort & Spa, Jamaica

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY FREQUENT-STAY PROGRAM
1. Marriott Bonvoy
2. IHG Rewards Club
3. Wyndham Rewards
4. Loews First
5. Hilton Honors

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY ALL-INCLUSIVE HOTEL
1. Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort Villages & Spa
2. Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
3. Paradisus Playa del Carmen La Esmeralda, Mexico
4. Club Med Pragelato Vialattea, Italy
5. Tortuga Lodge & Gardens, Costa Rica

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY PET HOTEL
1. Fairmont Hotels
2. The Peninsula Hotels
3. Westin Hotels & Resorts
4. InterContinental Hotels & Resorts
5. Sheraton

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY HOTEL KIDS CLUB
1. Atlantis Paradise Island Resort, Bahamas
2. The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, Colorado
3. Club Med, Sandpiper Bay, Florida
4. Sea Island, Georgia
5. Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort Villages & Spa

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY VACATION COMPANY
1. American Airlines Vacations
2. United Vacations
3. SAA Vacations
4. Delta Vacations
5. Holiday Inn Vacation Club

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY DOMESTIC TOUR COMPANY
1. Adventures by Disney
2. National Geographic Vacations
3. REI Adventures
4. Trafalgar
5. Intrepid Travel

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY INTERNATIONAL TOUR COMPANY
1. National Geographic Vacations
2. Lindblad Expeditions
3. Classic Journeys
4. Thomson Family Adventures
5. Austin Adventures

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY CRUISE LINE
1. Disney Cruise Line
2. Holland America Line
3. Viking Ocean Cruises
4. Princess Cruises
5. Celebrity Cruises

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY MULTIGEN CRUISE LINE
1. Silversea Cruises
2. Celebrity Cruises
3. Viking Ocean Cruises
4. Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection
5. Royal Caribbean

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY CRUISE LINE KIDS CLUB
1. Royal Caribbean Adventure Ocean
2. Norwegian Cruise Line Splash Academy
3. Disney Cruise Line Oceaneer Club
4. Carnival Cruise Line Camp Ocean
5. Princess Cruises Camp Discovery

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY CREDIT CARD
1. United Explorer Card from Chase
2. Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express
3. Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Card
4. Chase Sapphire Preferred
5. Citi AAdvantage MasterCard

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY CREDIT CARD REWARDS PROGRAM
1. Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Visa
2. Royal Caribbean Bank of America Visa
3. Delta SkyMiles American Express
4. Princess Cruises Visa Signature Card
5. Disney Premier Visa

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY INTERNATIONAL DESTINATION
1. Italy
2. Africa
3. Fiji
4. London
5. Costa Rica

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY DOMESTIC DESTINATION
1. Philadelphia
2. Orlando
3. California
4. Washington, D.C.
5. Texas

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY CARIBBEAN ISLAND
1. Bahamas
2. Grand Cayman
3. Curaçao
4. Aruba
5. St. Lucia

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY MULTIGEN DESTINATION OF THE YEAR
1. Italy
2. South Africa
3. Ireland
4. Patagonia
5. Mexico

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY AMUSEMENT PARK
1. Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio
2. Magic Kingdom, Disney World, Orlando
3. Universal Studios Hollywood
4. Sesame Place, Langhorne, Pennsylvania
5. Six Flags Fiesta Texas, San Antonio

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY WATERPARK
1. Great Wolf Lodge
2. Atlantis The Palm, Dubai
3. Aquatica by SeaWorld
4. Zoombezi Bay, Columbus, Ohio
5. Disney’s Blizzard Beach, Orlando

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY RENTAL CAR COMPANY
1. Avis
2. Hertz
3. Sixt
4. National Car Rental
5. Budget

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY TRAVEL PROVIDER OF THE YEAR
1. Lindblad Expeditions
2. National Geographic Vacations
3. REI Adventures
4. Thomson Family Adventures
5. Ecoventure Family Cruises

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY DOMESTIC AIRPORT
1. Pittsburgh International Airport
2. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
3. San Francisco International Airport
4. Chicago O’Hare International Airport
5. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
1. Singapore Changi Airport
2. Munich Airport
3. Hamad International Airport, Doha
4. Incheon Airport
5. Frankfurt am Main Airport

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY AIRPORT DINING
1. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
2. Chicago O’Hare International Airport
3. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport
4. George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Houston
5. Dubai International Airport

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY AIRPORT SHOPPING
1. Dubai International Airport
2. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
3. Hamad International Airport, Doha
4. Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
5. Singapore Changi Airport

Winner’s Circle