BGTW publishes a history of the British travel and tourism industry.

In 2060, sunbathers in Australia will require 'essential outdoor permits' and passengers on low-cost airlines will be able to fly London to Beijing for £8 (with pressurisation, waste disposal and oxygen all chargeable extras!).

These are among some predictions within the retrospective We were there published (8 Nov 2010) by the British Guild of Travel Writers (BGTW) to celebrate its 50th anniversary in the run-up to the World Travel Market.

The well-researched 64-page full-colour book, will be available for £4.99 from www.bgtw.org. It tracks the 50 key developments that have influenced British travel habits in the last 50 years. The perfect-bound book is illustrated throughout with archive photographs.

Likely to be of interest to travel and history enthusiasts and to those working within the travel industry, We were there draws on the exclusive knowledge and memories of BGTW members who have reported on the major moments in travel. "Our members were uniquely placed to do so," says BGTW chairman Melissa Shales.

Lead author is Roger Bray, award-winning former travel editor of the Evening Standard, who reported in 1976 on an inaugural commercial Concorde flight. It is edited by Mary Moore Mason, editor of Essentially America, who in 1969 handled the PR for another definitive travel event: the launch of the Boeing 747.

The sixties, Bray says, were "a decade of sea change", with the launch of the Spanish costas, package holidays, early African safaris and the Hippie Trail.

The seventies saw "travel for leisure blossom" thanks to Sir Freddie Laker and the 'Jumbo', and £10 deals to Majorca, despite upsets such as the crash of Court Line, one of Britain’s biggest tour operators. It was all recorded on that family TV favourite, Wish You Were Here…? presented by BGTW member and British treasure, Judith Chalmers.

The flashy eighties ushered in long-haul and luxury; an influx of foreign products such as camembert and couscous into supermarkets; and the trigger of a cross-Channel property boom and craze for timeshares.

The nineties witnessed the birth of low-cost flights, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of Apartheid sparking a rush to South Africa, while the Channel Tunnel transformed travel to France.

But perhaps it is now, the Noughties, that is seeing the greatest revolution in the industry thanks to the Internet, green travel and 9/11. What will be next? Who knows but as the dramatic news of this year’s Icelandic ash cloud proved, the travel industry is never dull…

We were there is published by the British Guild of Travel Writers and available for £4.99 from www.bgtw.org.

ISBN 978-0-9552260-5-2

The BGTW (established 1960) is the premier professional association for bonafide journalists, editors, photographers, and radio and film broadcasters working in the travel field from Britain.

For more information or review copy, contact Sarah Monaghan, BGTW Press & PR Co-ordinator at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or t. 01273 455798/m. 07905 916610. The book’s lead author and editor are both available for interview. Roger Bray: 0208 947 2621/07802425509; Mary Moore Mason: 0207 243 6954