Another year, another challenge for the travel industry. Last year it was the "perfect storm" of a recession and a slump in the value of sterling, making holidays more expensive at a time when people could least afford them. This year, the storm was tangible, in the form of the Iceland volcanic ash cloud – a phenomenon of sci-fi-like proportions that grounded flights across much of Europe in April and threatened to cast a pall over the entire summer. Then there was the more antediluvian threat of the niggling BA "will they, won't they?" strikes.

All of which goes to show that, by now, we should have probably come to expect the unexpected. Travellers are certainly learning to be more adaptable – witness the ingenuity of many who had to make long journeys by road, rail and boat during the ash cloud shutdown. And travel companies are also making valiant efforts to respond to rapidly changing and often unforeseen circumstances.

Despite all of this, survey after survey shows that people continue to regard holidays as a priority. Certainly, our own readership are a well-travelled bunch – Guardian readers take a total of 4.8 million holidays a year, Observer readers 3.6 million and users of guardian.co.uk 12.4 million. And they enjoy visiting far flung places off the beaten track.

Favourite UK city

The award for most awards goes to Edinburgh – winner for the 11th consecutive year. With its internationally renowned festivals, fine dining, history, culture and precipitous location, it's hard to see it being toppled.

1 Edinburgh 2 York 3 Durham 4 Bath 5 Cambridge

Favourite overseas city

Sydney, winner for the previous two years, slips down to third to be replaced by Tokyo – home of all things hi-tech, modish and online – which storms in from nowhere in a bold neon blaze

1 Tokyo 2 Berlin 3 Sydney 4 San Francisco 5 Krakow

Favourite European country

After three years at the top, Switzerland makes way for Austria. Could it be anything to do with Linz being joint European capital of culture last year?

1 Austria 2 Switzerland 3 Sweden 4 Croatia 5 Italy

Favourite long-haul country

The big surprise winner this year is The Maldives – the holiday paradise that is one of the most threatened places on earth. The 1,190 islands scattered in the Indian Ocean sit at two metres above sea level, and sustainability has been the watchword here for some time.

1 Maldives 2 Japan 3 New Zealand 4 Peru 5 Chile

Favourite overseas attraction

Nature wins the day again, with the spectacular Iguazú Falls, on the border of Brazil and Argentina, holding off the Grand Canyon to retain first place.

1 Iguazú Falls 2 Grand Canyon national park 3 Machu Picchu 4 Angkor Temple Complex 5 Disneyland, California

Favourite UK tourist attraction

The Victoria and Albert Museum won the inaugural award in 2008 and comes back this year to regain its crown. Founded in 1852, it is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and designs.

1 Victoria and Albert Museum 2 British Museum 3 Imperial War Museum 4 National Gallery 5 Brecon Beacons National Park

Best travel agent

Travel Counsellors, the Bolton-based network of agents working by phone from home, retains the top slot for the second year running. But it has to be content to share the prize this year with i-escape.com, the online booking site for a portfolio of hip accommodation in some of the world's most beautiful locations.

1 Travel counsellors 1 i-escape.com 3 Journeys a la Carte 4 Mr & Mrs Smith 5 Co-op Travel

Best tour operator – large operator

Trailfinders, winner for the past three years, is knocked off the top spot by a newcomer to our awards, but a company that's been around for nearly 100 years, HF Holidays specialises in walking and activity holidays,. It is a not-for-profit co-operative society with 30,000 members.

1 HF Holidays 2 Trailfinders 3 Voyages Jules Verne 4 Kuoni 5 Virgin Holidays

Best tour operator – small operator

InsideJapan Tours scoring an impressive 99.6% satisfaction rate among its clients.

1 InsideJapan Tours 2 Exclusive Escapes 3 Saddle Skedaddle 4 Audley Travel 5 Journey Latin America

Best short-break operator - large

Trailfinders is again knocked off the top slot by Travel Counsellors and HF Holidays. Special mention to Great Rail Journeys, in at number four, enjoying the renaissance in train travel.

1 Travel Counsellors 2 HF Holidays 3 Trailfinders 4 Great Rail Journeys 5 Riviera Travel

Best short-break operator - small

Original Travel, which specialises in tailor-made experiential and adventure breaks, prevails for the fourth year running.

1 Original Travel 2 Saddle Skedaddle 3 Inntravel 4 Exodus 5 VFB Holidays

Best ski company

For the second year, Peak Retreats, which looks beyond the big resorts and takes its guests to smaller, more authentic French villages, wins the day.

1 Peak Retreats 2 Inntravel 3 Directski 4 Esprit 5 Snowline & VIP

Best UK hotel

Pret A Manger co-founder Sinclair Beecham's clever policy of launching regular deals and keeping the price of extras down has proved a winning formula for the Hoxton Hotel – it doesn't hurt that the hotel is located in London's hippest district either.

1 Hoxton, London 2 City Inn 3 Hotel du Vin & Bistro 4 Grange Hotels 5 Marriott

Best overseas hotel

The jockeying for pole place continues in this category, with Mumbai-based luxury group Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces being overtaken by last year's bronze medallist Mandarin Oriental, the luxury group that has 41 hotels in 27 countries.

1 Mandarin Oriental 2 Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces 3 Jumeirah 4 Ritz-Carlton 5 Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts

Best cruise line

Silversea Cruises, the Italian-owned ultra-luxury line that specialises in exotic destinations from Rio to Zanzibar secures its berth in the top slot, pipping Cunard to the post for a second year.

1 Silversea 2 Cunard 3 Celebrity Cruises 4 Hurtigruten 5 Ocean Village

Best short-haul airline

No change in the top two spots from last year. Swiss holds out from its parent company Lufthansa.

1 Swiss 2 Lufthansa 3 Aer Lingus 4 KLM 5 BMI

Best long-haul airline

Singapore scoops the title for the seventh year in a row, doggedly holding off Air New Zealand, the perennial bridesmaid in this category.

1 Singapore Airlines 2 Air New Zealand 3 Ethihad Airways 4 Qatar Airways 5 Emirates

Best business airline

Same one, two, three from last year.

1 Singapore Airlines 2 Emirates 3 Virgin 4 Swiss 5 Aer Lingus

Best ferry company

Winner of the last two years, Norfolk Lines, slips two places to number three, to be replaced at the top by Caledonian Macbrayne, which provides links to some of the most beautiful and dramatic locations on Scotland's West Coast.

1 Caledonian MacBrayne 2 Brittany Ferries 3 Norfolk Lines 4 Stena Line 5 LD Lines

Best train company

Eurostar slips down from first to third following a winter of discontent in which trains broke down in the Channel tunnel due to the cold weather.

1 Chiltern Railways 2 Eurotunnel 3 Eurostar 4 East Coast Trains 5 ScotRail

Best travel website

Winner: Spotted by Locals

On of two awards that are judged by our editorial panel. Spotted by Locals was set up by Bart and Sanee Van Poll from their Amsterdam base. It offers a comprehensive guide to 29 European cities with tips from a network of local bloggers.

Ethical Travel Award

Wild Jordan is responsible for eco-tourism and socio-economic development in Jordan's beautiful nature parks and has a network of rustic eco-lodges and cabins in the parks

Winner: Wild Jordan