Inghams

First recommended: 1976; current customer score: 81%

Inghams' founder, Walter Ingham (pictured), is credited as "the man who took Britain skiing". He advertised his first Christmas Party Ski Holiday to Austria in the Daily Telegraph in 1934, and thus Inghams was born.

Ingham would organise food, transport, accommodation, equipment hire and instruction for guests – inadvertently pioneering not just the ski holiday, but also the package holiday. It's a formula that's barely changed some 90 years later.

The company later expanded into walking holidays, and today offers a wide range of winter and summer breaks to Austria, France, Italy, Switzerland, Slovenia and Andorra.

Inghams featured in Which? Travel's first tour operator ranking in its 1974 launch issue, alongside the lines of Thomson (now Tui) and Thomas Cook. Two years later was rated "significantly better than average".

It has for the most part remained in the top half of this table ever since, and in 2019 was finally awarded Which? recommended provider status.

The operator last year renewed its focus on its summer holiday proposition with a new Inghams Walking brand, hopeful of tapping into "a gap in the market for single or two-centre" day walking holidays.

Which? said the brand was continuing to innovate, highlighting new additions for 2024 such Madeira.

Kuoni

First recommended: 1983; current customer score: 84%

Kuoni had been selling holidays in Switzerland for nearly 60 years by the time it set up shop in London in 1965, and claims a number of travel industry firsts.

The brand operated the UK's first charter flight in 1970, was an early adopter of a computerised reservations system in 1980, and in 1999 was the first operator in the UK to offer online booking.

It first made the pages of Which? in 1975 a year after launching its first long-haul programme, and earned its first recommendation from Which? in 1983.

Kuoni was a consistent Which? recommended top performer in the 1990s for long-haul, and is currently Which?'s top family holiday provider. It also shares top spot in its ranking of beach/resort holiday providers with Jet2holidays.

"Superb customer service is what sets Kuoni apart," said Which?. "Customers consistently tell us its agents really listen to what you want, and do everything they can to tailor-make your perfect trip."

Sunvil

First recommended: 1997; current customer score: 83%

Sunvil started as a property company, selling villas and apartments in Cyprus, before hitting on the idea in the early-1970s of organising self-catering holidays so buyers could monetise their properties.

It helped establish the self-catering villa market in Cyprus, and soon expanded to Greece. The business is a founder member of Aito, which co-founder Noel Josephides (pictured) previously chaired, and regularly featured among Which?'s top operators for Greece and beach breaks.

The business remains independently owned, and is a Which? recommended provider in a new category for small/independent holiday companies, with readers continuing to rate the operator strongly for the quality of its accommodation, organisation and customer service.

And while still a Greece and Cyprus specialist, Sunvil has expanded its portfolio to include Italy, Spain, Portugal and its islands, as well as Latin America – launching Cuba late last year.

It continues to be known for introducing guests to the "real country" thanks to its focus on lesser-known destinations.