Members of the British Guild of Travel Writers have walked away with a clutch of prizes at Britain’s prestigious new Travel Press Awards announced on 26 November.

No fewer than four out of the five awards made for Outstanding Contribution in the field of travel PR and journalism were secured by Guild members.

British Guild of Travel Writers’ chairman Melissa Shales said: “The success of our members at these new industry awards is richly deserved and recognition of the high professional standing of the Guild. We are delighted to congratulate them on such an impressive achievement.”

The high-profile awards, presented during a ceremony at the Hilton Courthouse Doubletree in London’s West End, recognise excellence and achievement in travel writing, photography and broadcasting.

Creators of the awards, Kingley Event Management recruited the services of a group of senior travel industry executives and senior travel editors to judge an overwhelming 500 plus nominations and entries, ranging from national newspapers, consumer and trade titles, online travel titles, travel guide books and both television and radio programmes.

The Guild member winners were:

Roger Bray – One of the UK’s longest serving travel journalists, Roger started out as a travel and aviation correspondent before becoming travel editor of the Evening Standard and a news commentator on the BBC Holiday Programme. Specialising in skiing and hiking Roger now freelances for various publications.
John Carter – Former Guild chairman and a freelance travel journalist and presenter for many years, John worked on the BBC’s Holiday programme and went on to present Thames Television’s travel programme Wish You Were Here…?. Since then he has made many contributions to BBC radio and national newspapers and is widely acknowledged as one of travel’s most experienced and respected commentators.
Peter Hughes – Winner of the Guild Travel Writer of the Year 2008 Award, Peter was the founding editor of the Thames Television’s travel programme Wish You Were Here…?. Originally a journalist for regional newspapers in East Anglia, he spent 20 years in television before returning to full time writing where he has since contributed to nearly every national newspaper. Peter is also an active supporter of responsible tourism.
David Wickers – David was the first Chief Travel Correspondent of the Sunday Times (1988 – 2003), and is currently Travel Editor of Good Housekeeping as well as a busy freelance travel journalist contributing to the Express, Mail and many other national newspapers.

Guild member and consumer travel journalist Sanka Guha shared the title of Consumer Travel Journalist of the Year with Charles Starmer-Smith of the Daily Telegraph.

Guild member Emma Gregg won in the category Travel Guide Book of the Year for role as lead author of the Rough Guides East Coast Australia described by the judges as “upbeat, inspiring content packed with thoughtfully researched recommendations”.

Guild member Peter Ellegard won the category Travel Photographer of the Year. The judges said: “From feluccas on the Nile to reed flute caves in Guilin China, Peter’s photography caught the hearts and imagination of the judges with his quite stunning pictures being full of evocative imagery, and both striking and arresting images.”

A total of 16 awards were awarded by a judging panel that included Dermot Blastland, managing director of TUI Travel, John McEwan, chairman of ABTA, Peter Shanks, managing director of Cunard, and Ian Derbyshire, chief executive officer of Thomas Cook.

For more information, contact Sarah Monaghan at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and to see a full list of the winners, visit: http://www.kingley.co.uk/. Photographs of the awards presentation are online at www.stevedunlop.com/travelpressawards.html.

The British Guild of Travel Writers (www.bgtw.org), founded in 1960, is the premier professional association for bonafide journalists, editors, photographers, and radio and film broadcasters working in the travel field.