PROVIDENCIALES, Turks & Caicos Islands — GoGo Worldwide Vacations swept the eighth annual Sandals Resorts International Ultra Awards by taking home eight trophies during Saturday night’s ceremony at Beaches Turks and Caicos.

The awards ceremony, which was pushed back from its original date last year because of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the USA, was Sandals’ way of saying thanks to more than 200 of its travel partners from the US, UK and Canada. Roughly 45 awards were presented in eight categories to travel agencies, tour operators and wholesalers.

Among its eight trophies, GoGo Worldwide took home the night’s biggest award — the World’s Number One Producer from August 1999 to July 2001.

It is the eighth consecutive year that they have won that award, and according to the company’s vice-president of marketing for the Caribbean, Mike Norton, their success stems from just taking care of their clients.

“There’s really no secret (to our success). It’s just taking care of the customers, trying to drive the business towards the product that takes very, very good care of the client,” he told journalists yesterday morning. “Because the best form of advertising, we believe, is word-of-mouth, when they get back (home). And if they are well taken care of, they come back and they tell their friends.”

GoGo sells over 600 hotels in the Caribbean and, according to Norton, a significant amount of their business is done with Sandals properties. The company took home awards for being the top yield performer at Sandals Negril and Sandals Halcyon (in St Lucia). It also won awards for top suite seller at Sandals Antigua, Sandals St Lucia, Sandals Halcyon and Beaches Turks and Caicos.

Air Jamaica Vacations, meanwhile, took home five awards, including:

* most creative consumer promotion for the US;

* top suite seller at Beaches Grande Sport and Beaches Royal Plantation;

* the second place trophy for top producing wholesaler from August 2000 to July 2001; and

* second highest producer in the world from August 1999 to July 2001.

Sandals and Beaches chain chairman, Gordon “Butch” Stewart used the opportunity to thank his travel partners for their help in selling his properties, especially in the wake of September 11 which has hit the travel industry hard.

“Our job is to provide the best possible vacation and we have spent the last couple of years bringing the standards up and up and up,” he said.

“And you’re the guys who make it possible, you’re the ones who provide the business, the ones who give us the cash flow, the ones who allow us to do these things and I want to thank you.”