From the power of personal service to the changing role of AI, the winners of World Travel Awards 2026 share the ideas, values and strategies shaping the future of travel.
What does it take to become a leader in travel and tourism, and how do you stay there? For the winners of World Travel Awards Americas & Caribbean 2026, the answers range from investing in people and preserving a destination’s character to embracing new technology and continually raising standards.
Speaking to Breaking Travel News in Jamaica, hoteliers, tour operators and tourism leaders offered a revealing look at the thinking behind their success. Across different markets and business models, a common theme emerged: excellence is built through the everyday decisions that shape a guest’s experience.
Invest in people, and the results will follow
For Enrico Pezzoli, Managing Director of Princess Hotels, Resorts and Casino, the journey to recognition began with training. The resort operation had started from scratch two years earlier, with many staff members new to the hospitality industry.
“We really wanted to bet on the idea of training,” he explained, crediting the team’s development for its success.
His advice is straightforward. “The recipe of success is having passion for what you do.”
Pezzoli believes that technology, facilities, restaurants and beautiful beaches all have a role to play, but the decisive difference remains the service delivered by the people on the ground. “The difference is always the level of service and the passion that our team is showcasing every time we have a guest here.”
Consistency matters just as much as enthusiasm. Maintaining that same commitment every day is what turns a promising opening into an established reputation.
Lancelot Lebert, General Manager of Beaches Negril, offers a similarly direct formula for family hospitality: “Take care of the staff. The staff will take care of the kids.”
It is a principle that places employee experience at the heart of customer satisfaction. For a family resort, the ultimate measure of success is whether guests leave with memories they want to repeat.
The message extends beyond hotels. Kate Hendrickson-Chin and Nicola Madden-Greig of The Jamaica Pegasus highlighted teamwork and a shared commitment to exceptional experiences, whether serving corporate travellers, hosting weddings or welcoming guests for special occasions.
Across the sector, the lesson is clear: service standards depend on the people empowered to deliver them.
Consistency is the real test of excellence
Winning an award can mark an important achievement, but retaining recognition year after year demands sustained effort.
Jamie Robinson, Leisure Sales Manager at Princess Senses The Mangrove, identified two essential ingredients: “Teamwork and consistency. That is what it is. It’s a team that we have here on the property that makes the magic happen.”
For established businesses, consistency can become a defining part of their identity. For newer properties, recognition offers an opportunity to establish credibility and build awareness in a competitive market.
At The Jamaica Pegasus, the focus remains on delivering experiences that meet the needs of different travellers. Go! Jamaica Travel CEO Dave Chin Tung reduced the formula for success to two words: “Customer service.”
He also acknowledged the importance of the company’s returning clients, whose votes have helped sustain its recognition.
For businesses seeking to build loyalty, these perspectives suggest that reputation is earned repeatedly, through the quality of each interaction. Awards can validate that work, while the daily experience remains the foundation.
Authenticity is becoming a competitive advantage
As destinations compete for international attention, their individual character remains one of their most valuable assets.
Owen Henry, Hotel Manager at Jamaica Inn, spoke of the importance of preserving the property’s long-standing identity and the authentic Jamaican experience. The hotel has operated for 68 years, with some team members having worked there for decades.
“Showing that authentic Jamaican experience, that warmth, that charm,” he said, is central to its continued success.
For Henry, the people who deliver that experience matter as much as the physical setting. Hiring people who genuinely understand and embody the hospitality being offered helps preserve a sense of place that visitors cannot simply find anywhere.
Kyle Mais, Managing Director of Jamaica Inn, echoed the importance of heritage and continuity. The property’s family ownership, historic character and long-serving staff form part of its appeal.
He spoke of the importance of preserving a historic Jamaican property without changing it simply for the sake of change, while continuing to offer the standards expected by contemporary travellers.
That balance is relevant across the region. Mark Meadows, CEO of Chukka Caribbean Adventures, described the company’s approach as a focus on what is authentic about each island in which it operates.
For tourism businesses, the opportunity lies in creating experiences that are rooted in their surroundings. Local culture, food, landscape, architecture and the character of the people who welcome visitors can distinguish a destination in ways that infrastructure alone cannot.
Luxury is evolving beyond the facilities
The winners also offered insights into the changing meaning of luxury.
For Pezzoli, the essential difference lies in service and the passion of the team. At Jamaica Inn, heritage, atmosphere and a sense of continuity contribute to the experience. Across the region, the emphasis is increasingly on the feeling a property creates and the memories guests take home.
Half Moon, one of Jamaica’s established luxury resorts, also highlighted the importance of evolving with the market. Its representative, Sheraine Reid, encouraged visitors to discover how luxury hospitality in Jamaica is developing.
This evolution creates opportunities for both established properties and new entrants. A long history can provide a powerful sense of identity, while a newer resort can use investment, positioning and brand awareness to establish its place in the market.
The challenge for both is to make the experience distinctive and deliver it consistently.
Technology is changing the travel business
Alongside the enduring importance of personal service, technology is becoming an increasingly pressing consideration.
Violeta Concas, President of Costamar Travel, described how the company had evolved in response to changing times, building on the vision of its founder and committing to technology to improve customer service.
For Dave Chin Tung, adapting to artificial intelligence is now part of the industry’s wider challenge.
“A lot is changing, and a lot of travel companies have to change. We have to get into the AI field,” he said, acknowledging that some people remain apprehensive about the technology.
“But we do have to make a try to do it as best as we can.”
His comments reflect a practical approach to technological change: travel companies need to explore emerging tools and work out how to use them effectively.
The interviews offer little detail on specific AI applications, but the wider direction is apparent. Businesses are being challenged to adapt while maintaining the customer service on which their reputations depend.
The opportunity is to make use of new capabilities while retaining the human attention that defines a memorable travel experience.
Create experiences people remember
For Walter Zausch, Founder and CEO of Whiskey Thief Distilling Co. in Kentucky, the visitor experience is central to the business.
The craft distillery produces around 1,000 barrels a year, and its approach to tourism is built around bringing visitors to the source and introducing them to the product and its story.
“First of all, you got to hire good people,” he said. “We have an amazing team. They worked really, really hard. And then you got to make great products that people are going to want.”
He also emphasised the importance of leaving visitors with a lasting memory, often created through time spent with friends, family and people they love.
For destination businesses, this offers a useful perspective on experience-led tourism. The product itself is only one part of the story; the setting, the people and the opportunity to share an experience can be equally important.
Columbus Travel in Ecuador takes a related approach, focusing on guest satisfaction and creating unique experiences that allow visitors to discover the destination through the company’s perspective.
These approaches point towards a continuing opportunity for tourism businesses to develop experiences with a strong sense of place and a clear reason for visitors to remember them.
Keep raising the bar
The advice from the 2026 winners returns repeatedly to a handful of principles: invest in people, maintain consistent standards, protect what makes a destination distinctive and remain open to change.
For businesses across the Americas and Caribbean, these principles offer a framework for navigating a competitive and evolving industry. The scale of an operation may differ, from an independent boutique hotel to an international resort group or a specialist tour operator, but the underlying challenge remains the same.
As one representative of the travel industry put it during the interviews, the message is to “keep striving for excellence”.
For the vanguards of travel and tourism, excellence is a continuing commitment: to the people who deliver the experience, the guests who place their trust in it and the places that give travel its meaning.
