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A forgotten west African island, llama trek through the Forest of Dean and a futuristic glass-walled German car factory that’s now a tourist attraction were among the diverse destinations featured in the British Guild of Travel Writers’ (BGTW) prestigious 2006 Members Awards.
Each year the BGTW presents awards for articles written by members and selected anonymously by an independent panel of judges. The winners were announced last night at the BGTW’s annual gala dinner held at the Savoy Hotel in London on the eve of the global trade tourism event, World Travel Market. The tourism departments of Kansas and Oklahoma sponsored this year’s awards.
Jack Barker won the AA/BGTW Travel Writer of the Year Award for Major Contribution to Consumer Travel Writing, based on four articles that appeared in The Times, Independent and Independent on Sunday, which included his account of a family boat holiday around the Greek islands. In addition to a £2,000 prize, the award also included a writing commission from the AA.
The runner-up, with a prize of £1,000, was Martyn Symington, winner of the 2005 Travel Writer of the Year Award. This year his winning features, which appeared in The Times and Sunday Times, included an article on Sao Tome, a forgotten island in the Gulf of Guinea off West Africa.
This year’s awards included the Anne Gregg Memorial Award, for the best television travel feature, in memory of the late BGTW member, author, journalist and broadcaster who presented the BBC Holiday programme for 11 years. Anne, who completed her last book Tarragon and Truffles: a Guide to the Best French Markets after she had been diagnosed with cancer, died in September.
The winners of the other awards, the featured destinations and media in which they appeared were:
• Best Destination Feature under 850 words, sponsored by Travmedia – Jeremy Head, Bethlehem, Wanderlust.
• Best European Feature over 850 words, sponsored by Superbreak – Rebecca Ford, Forest of Dean llama trek, Daily Express.
• Best European (non UK) Feature over 850 words, sponsored by Eurolines – Rosemary Bailey, Corsica, Living France.
• Best Overseas (non European) Feature over 850 words, sponsored by Grenada Board of Tourism – William Gray, Inca Trail Peru, Wanderlust.
• Best Trade/Business Feature, sponsored by Philadelphia Visitors and Convention Bureau – Andrew Eames, Volkswagen plant Germany, Business Traveller.
• Kenneth Westcott Jones Memorial Award for Best Transport Feature, sponsored by Virgin Trains – Sue Dobson, Ukraine river cruise, European CEO.
• Best Guide Book Award, sponsored by First Public Relations – Adrian Phillips, Hungary, The Bradt Travel Guide, Bradt 2005.
• Best Narrative Travel Book, sponsored by KBC PR – Tim Ecott, Travels in Search of the Luscious Substance, Penguin 2005.
• The Ed Lacy Memorial Award for Best Radio Feature, sponsored by the Tourism Massachusetts – Susan Marling, Five Gardens of Spain, BBC Radio 4.
• Anne Gregg Memorial Award for Best Television Travel Feature sponsored by Oman Tourism – Paul Gogarty, Coastal Inspirations, Southwold, Anglia TV.
• Photograph of the Year Award, sponsored by Jersey Tourism – Peter Ellegard, China, Cloud 9.
ENDS
Note to Editor: Photographs of the awards presentation can be downloaded from www.simply-photography.co.uk.
Founded in 1960, the British Guild of Travel Writers is an association of over 270 professional writers, editors, photographers, producers, radio and television presenters involved in the world of travel.
For further information contact:
Jeannine Williamson
BGTW
Tel: 01323 641078 or 07710 858493
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