Center Parcs has been named as the top travel company in the Institute of Customer Service’s annual UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI).

Just five travel firms have made it on the 50-strong list, with Center Parcs being the first travel company to feature, appearing in 13th place with a score of 83.3.

The UKCSI is the national measure of customer satisfaction and is devised from a biannual online survey. The index used information supplied by 10,000 customers and 40,000 individual customer experiences.

Paul Kent, operations and development director at Center Parcs, says: “We are delighted to have been featured as the number one travel company for customer service in the UK.

"We pride ourselves on our excellent service to guests and it is part of the overall high quality experience we offer.

"Our success over the past 27 years has been down to our commitment to delivering the best family short breaks in the UK.”

Long-serving staff at Centre Parcs Longleat Forest recalled the opening of the village 20 years ago earlier this month.

It was the third Center Parcs village built in the UK and opened on July 14 1994.