Each year, the British Guild of Travel Writers organises two prestigious awards schemes: the BGTW International Tourism Awards and the BGTW Members’ Excellence Awards. The winners are announced at our Annual Gala Awards Dinner held on the eve of World Travel Market each year.
About the BGTW Awards
BGTW International Tourism Awards
Launched over 40 years ago, the BGTW International Tourism Awards scheme recognises excellence in tourism projects.
There are four categories (a single asterisk denotes a new category for 2024):
- Best UK and Ireland Tourism Project
- Best Europe Tourism Project
- Best Wider World Tourism Project
- Better World Project* – for Sustainability, Conservation and Cultural Preservation
Previous winners of the BGTW International Tourism Awards are listed at the bottom of the page.
BGTW Members’ Excellence Awards
There are 18 Members’ Excellence Awards categories, 5 portfolio categories and 13 for individual pieces of work. (Those marked a single asterisk are new for 2024 and a double asterisk denotes a changed award.)
The portfolio categories:
- BGTW Photographer of the Year
- BGTW Travel Blogger of the Year
- BGTW Travel Broadcaster of the Year
- BGTW Travel Writer of the Year
- Rising Talent Award*
The individual categories:
- Inclusivity Award*
- Journey Feature of the Year**
- Specialist Travel Feature of the Year
- Sustainability Feature of the Year
- Travel Blog Post of the Year
- Travel Book of the Year
- Travel Broadcast of the Year
- Travel Feature of the Year – Europe
- Travel Feature of the Year – UK
- Travel Feature of the Year – Worldwide
- Travel Guidebook of the Year
- Travel Photo Feature of the Year
- Travel Trade Feature of the Year**
If you or your brand would like to support us and gain brand visibility, then we offer a range of sponsorship packages connected to these awards and the Gala Dinner. Interested? Please contact Renate Ruge for more details.
Previous Award Winners (2018-23)
Note that the names of some awards have changed over the years and that in some years, the award wasn’t presented. There were no awards in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
BGTW Members’ Excellence Awards
Travel Feature of the Year – UK
2018 Ben Lerwill
2019 James Stewart
2020 Nigel Tisdall
2022 Lorna Parkes
2023 Simon Parker – The new 100-mile hiking route set to bring thousands to the Shetland Islands
Travel Feature of the Year – Europe
2018 Ben Lerwill
2019 Adrian Phillips
2020 Adrian Phillips (combined with Wider World)
2022 James Stewart
2023 Adrian Phillips – National Geographic Traveller, November 2022
Travel Feature of the Year – Wider World
2018 Adrian Phillips
2019 Jon Holmes
2023 Jessica Vincent – Hiking the Newly Restored Trans Bhutan Trail is the Best Way to Experience the Country
Travel Feature of the Year – regional, specialist and trade media
2019 Mike Unwin (Short read)
2020 Meera Dattani
2022 Ben Lerwill
2023 Ben Lerwill – The Joy of the Search: In Search of Otters on Islay (Hidden Scotland Magazine, Spring 2023
Sustainability Feature of the Year
2023 Penny Watson – Let there be light (Fireflies at Banyan Tree Escape)
Specialist Travel Feature of the Year – the Bryn Frank Award
2020 Sue Watt
2022 Jessica Vincent
2023 Ben Lerwill – Six of the world’s most thrilling city safaris
Transport Feature of the Year – The Kenneth Westcott-Jones Award
2018 Tristan Rutherford
2019 Emma Thomson
2020 James Stewart
2022 Sue Watt
2023 Simon Urwin – The Hamilton Road: A highway to a Kurdish paradise
Travel Guidebook of the Year
2018 James Lowen
2019 Hilary Bradt
2022 James Rushforth
2023 Caroline Mills – Camping Road Trips UK (Bradt Guides)
Travel Narrative Book of the Year – The Adele Evans Award
2018 Brian Jackman
2020 Emma John
2022 Tharik Hussain
2023 Mary Novakovich – My Family and Other Enemies: Life and Travels in Croatia’s Hinterland
Travel Photo Feature of the Year
2020 Simon Urwin
2022 Simon Urwin
2023 Rudolf Abraham – The jaw-dropping and the sublime (JRNY, March 2023)
Travel Blog Post of the Year
2020 Bella Falk
2022 Paul Healy
2023 Bella Falk – A Surprise Review Of Eagles Nest Yoga Retreat in Lake Atitlan, Guatemala
Travel Broadcast of the Year
2020 Cassam Looch
2022 Ash Bharwaj
2023 Jonathan Thompson – Adventure Cities Season One, Episode 4: Amman + Charleston (Discovery Channel)
BGTW Travel Blogger of the Year
2018 Kirstie Pelling
2019 Kirstie Pelling
2020 Richard Collett
2022 Paul Healy
2023 Bella Falk – Passport & Pixels
BGTW Travel Broadcaster of the Year
2019 Adrian Phillips
2020 Aaron Millar
2022 Simon Parker
2023 Aaron Millar
BGTW Photographer of the Year
2018 James Rushforth
2019 James Rushforth
2020 James Rushforth
2022 James Rushforth
2023 James Rushforth
BGTW Travel Writer of the Year
2018 Adrian Phillips
2019 Emma Thomson
2020 James Stewart
2022 Emma Thomson
2023 Adrian Phillips
BGTW International Tourism Awards
Best UK and Ireland Tourism Project
2018 Being Brunel, Bristol
2019 Walthamstow Wetlands, London
2020 Mayflower 400: Legend and Legacy, The Box, Plymouth, Devon
2022 Holocaust Galleries, IWM, London
2023 Dundreggan Rewilding Centre, Glenmoriston, in Inverness.
Best Europe Tourism Project
2018 Electric Hybrid Cruise Boat, Championing Responsible Tourism, Backwaters Tours, France
2019 The CWGC Experience – Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Beaurains, Arras, France
2020 Juliana Hiking Trail, Slovenia
2022 High Scardus Trail, The Balkans
2023 FLUGT – Refugee Museum of Denmark, Oksbøl, Denmark.
Best Wider World Tourism Project
2018 Waitukubull National Trail, Clearance and Restoration, Segment 11, Dominica
2019 Black Lemur Camp, Madagascar
2020 Partition Museum, Amritsar, Punjab, India
2022 Community Rhino Conservation Initiative, Zimbabwe
2023 The Pekoe Trail, Sri Lanka.
Armchair Award
2020 Visit Faroe Islands: Realtime Tour, Live Guide