Vio Travel, an Asia Pacific destination management company, has been named DMC of the Year – Thailand and ESG Initiative of the Year – Thailand at the Travel Daily Media Travel Trade Excellence Awards 2026. The dual honours recognise the company's efforts to modernise destination management through technology and embed sustainability across its operations and supplier relationships.
For Vio Travel, the awards underscore two pillars of its strategy as an Asia DMC: streamlining itinerary building for travel agents and building a more responsible, structured supplier network across Asia and Oceania.
One DMC partner, 15+ destinations
Vio Travel positions itself as a one-stop DMC partner covering more than 15 destinations, supported by a B2B booking platform, responsive pre-travel and in-destination support, competitive rates, and a product strategy that prioritises local suppliers and communities. The model combines the efficiency of technology with the local knowledge and human support of a traditional DMC.
The platform gives agents access to hundreds of thousands of travel products, including directly contracted inventory from 3,000 local suppliers, 6,000 tours and activities, and 4,000 transfer and transport routes, alongside hotels, flights, ferries, and rail options. It processes contracted rates, live inventory, and routing logic across multiple countries, allowing agents to build and price complex itineraries in minutes.
By automating roughly 80% of manual itinerary-building tasks, the platform helps agents save an estimated 25 working days per year, freeing time for client service and business growth. Vio Travel retains dedicated account managers and in-destination travel specialists, ensuring technology supports the relationships and local expertise that remain central to destination management.
Michael Lynden-Bell, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Vio Travel, commented: “We built Vio Travel to rethink how destination management works, making it faster, simpler and more efficient for travel agents without losing the local expertise and personal service that make a great DMC. This award is recognition of what our team has achieved in bringing technology and traditional destination management together. We're proud of how far we've come, but there's still plenty more we want to do for our partners across Asia Pacific.”
Supplier-led sustainability
Vio Travel's second award recognises its Sustainability Management System, which brings environmental, social and governance principles into daily operations and its supplier network. As a DMC, much of the traveller experience is delivered by third-party partners, so Vio Travel has built its approach around responsible procurement, supplier screening, human rights, environmental practices, animal welfare, anti-bribery, staff training, and guest communication.
The framework was independently validated in May 2026, when Vio Travel became the first DMC in Asia certified under the Preferred by Nature Standard for Sustainable Travel Activities V1.1, a GSTC-recognised standard. The audit confirmed 100% compliance across all audited areas of its Indonesia operations.
Supplier engagement is central to the system. Through structured screening and onboarding, Vio Travel gathers information on legal compliance, health and safety, waste and energy practices, employment, community engagement, and animal welfare. This gives the company greater visibility across its partners and helps identify areas where further support or improvement is needed.
The product strategy also prioritises local suppliers and communities, including smaller and rural operators that can otherwise struggle to access international travel distribution. Vio Travel provides hands-on training to local suppliers, including those that had not previously used a booking system, helping them access new revenue opportunities while bringing a greater proportion of the local tourism supply chain into a structured and responsible framework.
“For us, sustainability is about more than policies and certifications. It's about taking responsibility for how we operate, who we work with and the impact tourism has on local communities. Our Preferred by Nature certification was an important milestone, but the real work lies in bringing our suppliers along on that journey. This award recognises the progress we've made together,” added Lynden-Bell.
The Travel Trade Excellence Awards 2026 in Thailand also honoured other industry players, including Blue Tree Phuket's community initiative and Duetto's revenue management system, reflecting a broader push for innovation and responsibility across the region.
