In:House 28

Posted on in Announcements by Mark Bibby Jackson

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:

Intro from Chris

Happy New Year to everyone. We hope you all had a great time over the festive season.

Last year was a busy one and we hope you’ve noticed positive changes both within the Guild and its reputation within the industry. As an organisation of accredited professionals, this sets us apart from other businesses for travel media.

In 2025, our 65th year, we intend to build on this progress to ensure that all our members benefit. The AGM in March will be an essential step in this process so, if you value the Guild, please make every effort to attend in-person or online. It’ll be a really important one for the Guild.

Breaking with tradition, this will also be a solely Guild event (unsponsored). We’ll be outlining plans for the year – including at least three overseas conventions to Sri Lanka, China and Portugal – with more next year, proposing essential modernisation and rebranding, sharing ideas for celebrating the 65th year and much more.

Join us and your colleagues for a day of discussion, socialising, food and drink together, and let’s start celebrating 65 years now.

Chris Coe,

On behalf of the BGTW Board

Back to top

Call for supporting BGTW roles in 2025

The new Board will take office on February 1st with their first Board Meeting on February 3rd. Most positions for supporting and operating the Guild have been filled. However, as we will have a more streamlined Board this year, we are looking for people to assist with the following positions.

Members Benefits Liaison – This role requires spending a few hours a month working with the Sponsorship & Partnership Director reaching out to brands, companies and travel providers to secure new benefits for BGTW members and ensure our current benefits are still active and in order. See more details on Member Benefits below. Please contact renate.ruge@bgtw.org if you’re interested or for further information.

Social Media – If you might be interested in supporting the BGTW’s social media in some way, please let us know. We’re looking to create more in-house content this year to promote members and the Guild and increase our presence online. Please contact sarah.rodrigues@bgtw.org if you’re interested or for further information.

65th Anniversary – Mary Anne and Juliet Coombe are collating ideas to celebrate 65 years of the Guild in 2025. If anyone would like to help with this please contact Mary Anne

Back to top

Podcast details

The podcast recordings of the BGTW Better World Sustainability Symposium will be going live in the coming days. Once published, these can be accessed via Acast, Apple Podcasts (the recent Social Media event recording will also be hosted here one live), or bgtw.org/better-world

Back to top

AGM Invite & Details

All members should have received an email regarding the AGM. The details are as follows:

  • Date: Monday 10th March 2025
  • Time: 11.00am to 6.00pm
  • Venue: International Students House, 1 Park Crescent, London, W1B 1SH
  • Evening Social: 6.00pm to 10.00pm
  • Social Venue: The Union Regents Place, 11 Triton Street, London, NW1 3BF (5 minutes’ walk from AGM venue)

If you are a full or honorary member, or an appointed Associate Representative, you can register to attend (in-person or online), or send apologies on this form. It would be helpful to receive your responses ASAP so we can finalise the numbers for the working lunch etc. To submit motions or agenda items for discussion, and for full details, please refer to the AGM invite email sent on 14/01/2025. If you have any questions regarding the AGM, please contact Charlotte or daniel.clarke@bgtw.org.

A note on the AGM from Chris
This AGM will be really important for the future of the Guild. We hope that you have noticed the changes made last year and at this AGM we will be presenting the plans to build on these this year which include conventions, a new website, a focus on professional standards and a rebranding. The rationales for all of these will be presented, discussed and voted on at this AGM. In addition to making the Guild more business-like, we need to reflect changes in our industry. With these, our members have and continue to broaden their skill base – few of us are now only writers, or only broadcasters or only photographers. 

Last year, Dan worked with several members to come up with modernising and rebranding recommendations. Before the AGM we will be presenting these to you, along with a rationale for why we need to take these steps. Before the votes, we’ll have a discussion at the AGM, and this will no doubt be lively. We know some people don’t like change but our industry is highly competitive so we need to keep up with how it’s changing to stay relevant. A strong, progressive reputation will make us stand out. Please give these your consideration because they are important for the future of the Guild and to support you.

Back to top

Convention & Abroad Trip Updates

CONVENTIONS

Against a background of falling budgets, it has been almost impossible to secure the AGM & Conventions which we’ve enjoyed in the past. This is mainly due to the cost of flights for such a large group. We are therefore looking at alternatives and we’re currently signing off on three conventions (see below) with two others under discussion for 2026. 

These conventions will move us away from traditional press trips and will have a slower, more in depth, culturally based itinerary. There are likely to be between 30 and 60 places per trip. Some but not all will require commissions but we are negotiating spaces for members who work with commissioned secured post-trip. There will be spaces for photographers and broadcasters as well as writers and bloggers. 

We will be presenting more details at the AGM on 10th March on how conventions and sign-ups will operate. You will have the opportunity to register your interest once the full agreement is in place.

Sri Lanka: An agreement has been reached for a BGTW Trip with Sri Lanka in May 2025 for up to 50 members. Please review the separate email communication for all further information and the application form for this trip.

China: Early June with possible second trip in September.

Algarve: Due to the change of dates with the Sri Lanka trip, the Algarve convention (for up to 30 members) will now be later in the year. Details to follow.

Back to top

Events & Workshops

Photography Workshop – 23rd January 2025

Bookings now closed – WORKSHOP FULL

ANTOR debate – Responsible Travel followed by networking event – 

12th February at the Little Ship Club.
BGTW discussions will be chaired by Chris Coe, with Rashmi Narayan and Mark Bibby Jackson presenting views on this topic.

ANTOR are great supporters of the Guild so can you please make an effort to come along. Sign up here

Kew Gardens Preview Invite
Members of the Guild are invited to the media preview of Orchids Peru, on Thursday 30 January from 10am – entrance through the Victoria Gate.

Join us for this exclusive preview and be one of the first to see Kew’s spectacular orchid festival, this year celebrating the flora and fauna of Peru. Entrance to the gardens through Victoria Gate from 10 am, last entry 3 pm as the gardens close at 4 pm.

RSVP essential by 24 January 2025 to valery.collins@bgtw.org


Bristol meetup at the Bristol Light Festival – Wednesday 5 February from 5pm

This free outdoor festival in Bristol sees 10+ major light based art installations set up around the city centre. Heather Cowper and Fiona Quinn will lead a walk around the installations, with plenty of chance for photography and fun interactions. We’ll end the walk around 7pm with a drink and (optional) bite to eat in a location (tbc) in Bristol city centre. Start time is flexible, as those that can’t arrive so early can join us in the course of the walk.

RSVP to Valery Collins 

Social Media Evening Report (Jan 9, 2025): Posts, Presence and Profitability: Maximising your Social Media

Hosted by the Uzbekistan Embassy in Holland Park, the Social Media evening was a great success. Over the evening’s drinks and Uzbek Pilaf (both meat and vegetarian varieties), the 25 Guild members had the chance to catch up with old friends and meet new ones.

The main part of the evening began as Chris Coe gave a brief description of this year’s abroad convention possibilities and information about the AGM. The Uzbek Ambassador to the UK, Mr Ravshan Usmanov, talked briefly about the country then showed three films, ending with a short trailer of a video on YouTube on the disappearance of the Aral Sea and its consequences. It was both grim and thought-provoking on the state of the natural world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYSf6aQ4BiM.

Mark Bibby Jackson briefly mentioned the role the BGTW plays in promoting members’ work before introducing the panel. Facing the audience were moderator Sarah Lee (sarahleetravels.com), Steph Parker (bigworldsmallpockets.com), and Lucy Ruthnum (absolutelylucy.com), all experts in social media. Questions and answers followed their expert introductions and advice.

The evening left as many questions as it provided answers, prompting the Board to start arranging a further, bigger event on the subject this year.

The evening also added Uzbekistan to the countries interested in working more closely with the BGTW.

All in all, a very successful evening.

And if you missed it, don’t worry. The evening will be produced as a podcast in the near future.

Mary Anne Evans

Mark Bibby Jackson

Back to top

Membership Update and New Member Gazetting

Hi everyone! I hope that the New Year has started favourably for you all. I am back in Blighty after almost two months Down Under … just a small shock to the system, but it’s also good to be in my ‘other’ home. If any of you have been travelling in these past months, I hope you’ve been having safe and happy adventures. I also hope your tan isn’t as good as mine, but that’s just me being a brat.

More importantly, I’d like you to all join me in welcoming two new members to the Guild – Noni Ware and Monica Meade. They’re both brilliant writers and wonderful people (I’ve been lucky enough to be on press trips with both of them) and I’m sure they’ll be huge assets to the Guild.

In a 2025 plot twist we are, rather than sending out separate gazetting emails, going to be introducing new applicants to you here, to cut down on the number of emails you receive and to keep everything a little more streamlined. So, let me put the following applicants on your radar … .

Hugh Tucker, who focuses on France, food and the UK. He works with BBC Travel most frequently, but has contributed to Wanderlust magazine, The Independent, Time Out and Little Toller Books, amongst many other publications, and have appeared in an anthology by Bradt Guides in the past. He’s also just embarked on his first book-length project.

Chau-Jean Lin, whose work has been published in BBC Travel, The Independent, Fare magazine, Adventure.com, the Royal Academy of Engineering, Globetrender, and Intrepid Travel’s Good Times magazine. They have a forthcoming piece in Lonely Planet’s upcoming book, Epic Train Journeys and was selected on Intrepid Travel’s Inaugural Diversifying Media Trip in 2023, as well as being shortlisted for the Yan-Kit So Memorial Award for Food Writers.

Lucy Ruthnam, who specialises in solo female travel and regularly writes for Matador Network & Much Better Adventures. She’s also been featured on the BBC, Forbes, the Independent & Channel 4’s Million Pound Motorhomes.

Maranda Pleasant, who is the editor of Origin Magazine, which has been running for 15 years in the US and is now launching in London.

Alex Outhwaite, who has, for the past 12 years, hosted & directed award winning travel TV shows – broadcast on SKY, Travelxp & Amazon Prime. As a journalist she’s written and produced videos for clients such as Wanderlust Magazine, BBC Travel, Travel & Leisure, as well as hosting live events for National Geographic Traveller.

As ever, please get in contact with me on sarah.rodrigues@bgtw.org with any feedback, questions or concerns on any of these applications. But, in any case – how fabulous that we continue to have so many people wanting to join the Guild. Huge thanks to all of you who fly the organisation’s flag and make it attractive to others in the industry – it obviously has a huge impact.

Looking forward to catching up with many of you at the AGM. Best wishes in the meantime.

Sarah

Back to top

Partnerships, Sponsors & Benefits

RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

Aloha Guildies, we will soon be sharing plans for BGTW partnership opportunities for this year, as always we appreciate your leads!

To build on the success of last year and looking ahead to our Awards and BGTW Annual Gala Dinner 2025, we would love your support, leads and useful suggestions as well as contacts and ideas for generating the funds we need to keep on Guild-ing.

Also useful for us to receive your feedback and fab memories or ‘postcards’ from BGTW AGM trips and in particular Isle of Man, which we will build into our presentations for future trips, AGMs and conventions. Thanks and good on you. Please email: renate.ruge@benitafinanzio

MORE BENEFIT

We are also looking to broaden the benefits for members, so if you have any ideas, leads, PR companies interested in offering benefits or indeed you would like to join the Board (as a point person, contributor or general helper) we would welcome your help. Please email: renate.ruge@bgtw.org

Back to top

Mark Bibby Jackson
By: Mark Bibby Jackson Editor, Freelance Journalist, Travel Writer