In:House #18

Posted on in Announcements by Mark Bibby Jackson

In this issue of In:House you will find:

Welcome from Chris Coe

First social evening – tick; Meet PRs and first PR networking event – tick; First regional event next month – tick; Summer party coming soon – tick; Support in place for most Board positions – tick; New members joining, some paused ones coming back – tick; Live event recording of first podcast scheduled – tick; Awards review concluding and scheduled for launch – tick; Modernisation and rebranding review underway – tick; New Membership platform being installed – tick; Member’s survey completed (almost) – tick; First BGTW sustainability event in the planning – tick; First Gala Dinner sponsorship secured – tick; Take a breath – no chance!

A little over three months ago, Renate and I faced running the Guild without the rest of a Board, and with some major issues to deal with. Now, pulling together, the Board has completed its first highly-energised three months. There’s lots more to do, of course! Some other things like sponsorship, an AGM destination, and the Gala Dinner venue take a little longer, primarily because they are so financially crucial to the Guild. Lots more is happening too, but that’s mostly the dull but essential stuff, so we won’t bore you!

Below, you’ll find lots of news but, most importantly, an outline of this year’s awards and the final call for the membership and sustainability survey. The survey now closes on 2nd June. It’s important to get your input as this will steer policy and activities this year. Please don’t pass up this opportunity to have your say.

Personally I can’t wait to get into summer properly, especially now the weather has realised that it was lagging behind and has finally caught up. We’re all looking forward to seeing you at the events in the coming month or so, and hopefully sharing a glass or two. No doubt you’ll tell us how we’re doing over the second glass, at least.

Best wishes,

Chris Coe, on behalf of the BGTW Board

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New 2024 Awards coming soon

The Awards Review Panel has finished the first part of the process, with input from members. The new award categories for 2024 are listed below. There are two new awards (one ITA and one MEA), plus some rationalisation and updating of the existing awards.

The new ITA award will be the ‘Better World’ for the best global sustainability, conservation & cultural preservation project.

The new MEA award will be the ‘Rising Talent’ award which can be won by any member who is newer to their career as a writer, photographer, broadcaster and/or blogger.

The Awards Panel are now reviewing the entry criteria for each category and will recommend these to the Board at the end of this week. All the categories, especially the changed ones, will become clearer once these criteria are in place.

There will also be a new submission and judging system this year. The awards will be launched as soon as this system has been tested and checked. The estimated launch is between June 3rd and 10th.

Prize Money

For those of you who don’t realise, the prizes for our awards are cash, with the top prizes this year being £1000 each!

Some of the writing awards have had low entry numbers. These have been placed under review and if they are not supported by you, the members, this year, they will be axed for 2025. So enter or lose them!

This year’s awards categories are:

International Tourism Awards

  • Best UK and Ireland Tourism Project
  • Best Europe Tourism Project
  • Best Wider World Tourism Project
  • Better World Project – (sustainability, conservation and cultural preservation)

Members’ Excellence Awards

Overall winners

  • BGTW Travel Writer of the Year
  • BGTW Photographer of the Year
  • BGTW Travel Broadcaster of the Year
  • BGTW Travel Blogger of the Year
  • BGTW Rising Talent Award

Writing awards

  • Travel Feature of the Year – UK
  • Travel Feature of the Year – Europe
  • Travel Feature of the Year – Wider World
  • Trade Travel Feature of the Year
  • Sustainability Feature of the Year
  • Specialist Travel Feature of the Year
  • Journey Feature of the Year
  • Travel Guide Book of the Year
  • Travel Book of the Year

Photography awards

  • Travel Photo Feature of the Year

Broadcast awards

  • Travel Broadcast of the Year

Blogging Awards

  • Travel Blog Post of the Year

Thank you to the Review panel who have worked so hard on this – Rudolf Abraham, Tim Bird, Lisa Kjellsson, Lynn Houghton and Shebs Alom.

HELP! We need more people to step forward to help with the awards. If you’re worried that you won’t be able to enter, then don’t be; the new awards system is anonymised, and most of the work is administrative, such as liaising with judges, then the event itself nearer the time. PLUS, you get a free Gala Dinner ticket, and it’s not to do the washing up… not all of it anyway!

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Honouring members who have passed

The eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed that the naming of awards for individual members who are no longer with us has been removed this year. If you’re wondering why, this was because it was becoming a difficult issue, especially as we have sadly lost several more members recently. So we’ve decided to honour them in another way.

As we revamp the website, we’ll create a new ‘Hall of Honour’ to recognise the contributions, both to the travel industry and the Guild, of those who are no longer with us.

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Members Survey final call

Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete the anonymous members’ survey. Sadly, the number of responses was low (12.3% of members) and while the feedback has been really valuable (especially in terms of future training events, benefits and membership criteria), this isn’t an ideal sample size of feedback for decision making.

Given many members were away at IPW, and others have since contacted me to say they missed the deadline, we’ve decided to extend the survey, which will now close on Sunday 2nd June. If you haven’t yet completed it, I’d really appreciate you taking the time. All questions are optional, so you can quickly skip through any that you don’t feel strongly about and only add your thoughts as and where you wish.

The Board is already reviewing the feedback provided by those who’ve responded, and we have started actioning some of it, such as reaching out to potential benefit providers.

complete the survey here

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London events update from Mary Anne Evans

June 3: Podcasting – 6-9pm, Hyatt Hotels London StratfordJon Holmes talks about the dos and don’ts of podcasting, followed by a live recording with John Carter talking about the evolution of travel broadcasting and his life in travel. It will be a very informative and highly amusing evening, with drinks on the terrace and views of London. We look forward to seeing many of you then.

July 1: Summer Party – 6.30pm to 10.00pm, Fredericks Restaurant Islington

Sponsored by Destination Canada. This will be a really enjoyable event, in a good restaurant with a garden in Islington. We hope to see as many of you there as possible

RSVP to both events here

Please send me ideas for evening events or add them to the Members Survey – what kind of evening would you like? Advice on pitching, photography, setting up websites?

Please submit your suggestions to Mary Anne Evans

Mid-September (Date TBC): Sustainability in travel media event with workshops, social and announcement of ITA finalists.

More details soon.

November 4 (Monday): BGTW Annual Gala Awards Dinner
We are working hard on this and will provide more information as we firm up the details. In the meantime, put it in your diary!

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Regional events update from Valery Collins

Invite for Members to Experience The Rising at Raby Castle, Park and Gardens – 30 May

Raby Castle, Park and Gardens in Staindrop, Darlington, Co Durham has invited a limited number of Guild members to attend The Rising (a significant restoration) before the Raby Castle, Park and Garden opens to the public. This first look will take place on Thursday 30 May at 2 pm. This visit will include a guided tour of this 14th Century family home.

Please contact Valery if you are interested in attending .

June 24-26: Members’ Social at Travel Connections Event in Glasgow

The nature of this event has meant it has been difficult to set up a formal meeting for Guild members here but with over 30 members attending plus half of the Board, we’ll be organising an informal get together on 25 June, between 16:00 to 18:00.

July: Save the Dates – Launch of Summer Programmes in Bath and Bristol

It was announced recently that Bath will be launching their summer programme on Tuesday, 2 July, and Bristol will be launching their summer programme on Tuesday, 9 July. Members are invited to attend these launch parties. More details soon.

August 8-10: Durham Event

I have received some expressions of interest for this event but I need to hear from more members before this event can be confirmed and an itinerary put together. In particular, I would like to hear from members local to Durham who could join us either on the networking evening or the day we are exploring Durham. If you are interested, please contact me, valery.collins@bgtw.org as soon as possible so we can finalise the programme for this event.

October 16: Harrogate Event

I intend to confirm this event for 16 October but looking for more interest before this becomes possible. Please let me know if you are interested and specify if you are looking for overnight accommodation or if you live locally and will be attending but do not need accommodation. I look forward to hearing from you at valery.collins@bgtw.org. Thank you.

A note from Chris:

As you can see, Valery has been working on lots of regional events. These were requested by the membership so please support them. It would be great if members in and around London also participated in some of them.

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Press trips

Invite to Attend the European Championships in Berlin 28 to 30 June

Charles Wilson has invited two members of the Guild to join him at the European Championships from 28 to 30 June. Invited members would have to pay for their flights but Berlin will provide hotel, breakfast and tours etc. They are looking for features including Berlin, the European Championships and the 35th Anniversary of the Fall of the Wall etc.

Applications and requests for more information to Charles please.

RSC Press Nights – 25 June and 24 July

We have received an invitation from the RSC for 15/20 members to attend two press nights this summer in Stratford on Avon. They are looking for coverage of either the new show launches or the RSC itself. Below are the dates and links to the two press nights.

Please contact Valery at valery.collins@bgtw.org if you are interested in attending both or either of these dates.

How to Apply for a Press Trip

How times have changed post-COVID and the rising cost of living. I have become more aware of this by talking to PRs, destinations and successful applicants for various press trips. Budgets are limited this year, so Return on Investment (ROI) is a priority. Confirmed commissions, including topic/theme/story, are a must. As are readership reach and demographics of the publications that will feature these commissions. Good social media coverage is also becoming more important.

Below is a template you might like to consider using for future applications for press trips depending on whether you are applying via me or directly to the PR/destination where that is their preference. I am not at liberty to divulge contact details of PRs if they have not requested me to do so.

Suggested Template:

Name:

Website:

Confirmed Commissions: outline how you would write about this topic and provide more information about the publication e.g. name, reach and demographics. See the example below:

Include any other information to support your application that you think could be persuasive e.g. previous experience of the host destination/hotel/attraction/event. Are you active on social media platforms? Which platforms and number of followers?

PHOTOGRAPHERS – there is interest from PRs in including you on press trips. However, the common request is that you provide your images (up to 20) F.O.C. We would welcome your thoughts on this as providing your work F.O.C. is not something we want to encourage if you don’t have any other benefits from participating.

Feel free to contact me at valery.collins@bgtw.org should you wish to discuss this topic further.

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SUMMER SPECIAL: Blooming marvellous member invite, July 2-8

Thanks to our friends at Explore Charleston, a valued partner and BGTW sponsor, our members are being offered a pair of complimentary tickets to RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival this summer, with a chance to admire the Charleston Garden for yourself from July 2-8, 2024.

Providing South Carolina travel inspiration and with all the charm and elegance of the city itself, the garden will be reminiscent of Charleston’s historic courtyard gardens. A series of water features, representing the famous Charleston waterfront fountain are based on the pineapple, a symbol of welcome and hospitality in the city.

Apply for your tickets now. We have 50 pairs of tickets (100 in total) to give away to BGTW full members, reserved on a first come, first serve basis by emailing: Charlotte.copeman@bgtw.org. Please provide your name and address and the date you would like to visit.

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Skills development and workshops

Photography workshops (June or July)

We need to book dates in June and/or July for both photography for travel writers and more advanced photography workshops. We have a fabulous Fujifilm House of Photography in Covent Garden as the venue for this, and it is FREE. Only 2 writers have expressed an interest (a few more in the survey) and no photographers.

When it was offered to PRs, they all wanted to do it – first so they can improve their photography and second, so they can understand journalists’ needs on press trips! Presumably, the lack of interest means you’re all brilliant with a camera or phone, which should make the photography awards very exciting this year! 

If you want to improve your photography, please contact Charlotte or Chris by 29th May. If no one responds, then we’ll just run the workshops for PRs instead.

Eye for the Light and TPOTY Photography Course Discounts, June 

Chris Coe is running some photography workshops through Eye for the Light and TPOTY on June 8th and 9th. These will be in Yorkshire at Castle Howard and Bempton Cliffs. They are small group half-day workshops. He is offering Guild members a 50% discount, so prices start at just £30. Details on this link https://eye.tpoty.com/eye-for-the-light-workshops/

The three workshops on offer are:

  • Quiet Nature
  • Crazy Red Squirrels
  • Ganneta & Owls

If you’re interested, please contact Chris for a discount code to book.

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Celebrating our members

We continue to have new Guild applicants on a regular basis. Rather than flooding your inboxes, I’m trying to send a handful of prospective members at a time. As ever, if you have any feedback about these Guild hopefuls, don’t hesitate to get in contact.

In the meantime, please join me in welcoming new members Mark Nicholls, Kerry Hudson and Kylie Lang to the Guild. They were interviewed by a team of Board members a fortnight ago, and we look forward to meeting them at future events. If you’re on social media, give them a follow and say hello! 

Overlooked in the previous edition of In:House, we’d like to congratulate Kassondra Cloos (News Writer), Meera Dattani (Senior Editor), and all Guild members who have contributed to Adventure.com for winning the inaugural Travel Media Website of the Year category at the TravMedia Awards!

Congratulations to Jon Holmes on his BAFTA nomination for ‘The Skewer’ on a shortlist of four. Sadly, his programme didn’t win, but it is an incredible achievement even to be nominated.

BGTW Members at IPW

By Renate Ruge

Hooray for Hollywood

Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board welcomed the U.S. Travel Association’s IPW – the largest inbound travel trade show – to Los Angeles, this month – and a number of BGTW members were there.

Apart from reconnecting with old travel friends and making great new ones, plus myriad successful meetings at the Los Angeles Convention Center, there were show-stopping surprises galore… Live performances from Diana Ross opening IPW at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Exposition Park; Keanu Reeves and Dogstar, plus reggae icon Ziggy Marley rocking the stage at lunch; Broadway previews, press brunch bites with art at LA’s super stylin’ Getty Center plus awesome parties, all wrapping at Universal Studios Hollywood with exclusive access to the legendary entertainment theme park and studio tours. Visit California served local wines al fresco all week at California Plaza. What a ride in the city of angels.

Our members’ names in lights at IPW

A big BGTW shout out goes to Claire Dodd, Kav Dadfar and Rashmi Narayan among the travel journalists honoured at the U.S. Travel Association and Brand USA IPW Travel Writer Awards in a competition recognising outstanding travel writing by IPW journalists in three categories: best U.S. travel destination article, best (past) IPW host city article for San Antonio (2023), and best trade publication article.

BGTW’s Claire Dodd won Best IPW Host City Article (San Antonio, Texas) for her feature, “The Dead Are Alive,” published in JRNY magazine, “a celebration of life, death, family and community”, showcasing San Antonio’s Day of the Dead. The judges noted her beautiful reporting and recognised the accompanying images by BGTW photographer and publisher Kav Dadfar.

Nearly 250 entries were received from journalists on five continents where judges looked for original ideas and top storytelling that inspire readers to travel to the United States. The finalists in the Best U.S. Travel Destination article category also included BGTW’s Rashmi Narayan (United Kingdom, Adventure.com). We congratulate them both!

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Caption competition

Thanks to Jonathan at MADE for the trip to the Royal Shakespeare Company, in Stratford upon Avon, for our members and to Liz Gill for taking the photo.

Caption competition – Prize for the best or bravest caption!

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Isle of Man coverage

If you have yet to submit your published articles or media from the AGM, please send links / clippings to Charlotte.

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Thank you from the Board

A big thank to those who’ve stepped up to help and support the Board:

Awards – Lisa Kjellsson

Finance – Kathryn Liston

Gala Dinner – John Bell

Partnership & Sponsorship – Demi Perera

PR & Comms – Ross Clarke and Rashmi Narayan

PR Comms & Newsletters – Mark Bibby Jackson

Social Media – X – Kirsten Henton

Social Media – Instagram – Shebs Alom

Social Media Strategy – Alex Green

Website – Simon Willmore

And finally, doing everything behind the scenes – Charlotte Copeman…. never forget Charlotte!

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Board contact details

Chris COE, Chair: chris.coe@bgtw.org

Daniel CLARKE, Vice Chair & Sustainability Lead:  daniel.clarke@bgtw.org 

Valery COLLINS, Regional & National Liaison Director: valery.collins@bgtw.org

Mary Anne EVANS, Events Director: maryanne.evans@bgtw.org

Sarah RODRIGUES, Membership Director: sarah.rodrigues@bgtw.org

Renate RUGE, Sponsorship & Partnerships Director: renate.ruge@bgtw.org

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BGTW on social media

We’re always up for sharing your work, events, news, projects etc. 

Social media is managed by a small team.  If you’re not being followed by the BGTW, email us.

Twitter: Tag @travwriters in your tweet/photo if you want us to see / share.

Instagram posts: Select ‘Tag people’ then tag @travwriters.
You can use the #bgtw hashtag or tag@ us in post copy/comments, but they’re harder to track. Tagging IN the pic guarantees we see it.
Stories/Reels: Use the ‘@mention’ function to tag us.

Facebook: We can promote your work/news on our public Facebook page. Send links via FB Messenger to that account.

LinkedIn: You can ‘@’ British Guild of Travel Writers in posts and we’ll like/share/comment when possible/appropriate.

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