Long standing Guild member Brian Jackman has been recognized for his outstanding contribution to the understanding of African tourism. He is one of three members to receive awards from the African Travel and Tourism Association. The others are Sue Watt, for best wildlife feature in a national newspaper and best features onf African environmental and conservation issues – and John Malathronas for best online coverage of Africa.
The judges said of Brian: “ No journalist has contributed more to understanding African tourism.” After 20 years at the Sunday Times, he turned freelance, writing for many other titles, among them the Sunday Telegraph. His books on Africa include The Marsh Lions, The Big Cat Diary and Roaring at the Dawn.
Andrew Purvis, who has commissioned many of his pieces for the Sunday Telegraph, describes him as the writer all editors want to “own” exclusively – “available at the drop of a hat to work his legendary magic”. His prose is “engaging, authoritative and faultless” and he is “breathtakingly versatile”.
Sue Watt’s winning wildlife feature, Cecil the Lion’s Legacy, One Year On, published in The Independent, was interesting because it looked at the impact the killing of Cecil on support for conservation and community among the tourism and conservation community in Zimbabwe. Her feature on environmental and conservation issues – Safari in Malawi – also in The Independent threw light n the realities of poaching but was a story of hope that it was possible to create islands of conservation in densely populated countries.
John Malathronas’ article, Mozambique: Superstar Slum, which appeared in National Geographic Traveller, won praise for its combination of humour, personality and interest.
