BGTW is delighted to congratulate longtime member Hilary Bradt MBE, co-founder of Bradt Travel Guides, for being inducted into the Latin American Travel Association (LATA) Hall of Fame. The ceremony took place at the House of Commons and is an honour awarded to key British figures who have contributed significantly to the image of Latin America in the United Kingdom.
“A pioneer in her field and founder of Bradt Travel Guides, Hilary Bradt can be said to have put parts of South America on the tourist map.” LATA said when announcing the honour. “Many of Bradt’s subsequent guidebooks to South American countries were the first to be published and some remain the only standalone guides available – such as the Bradt guides to Guyana and Suriname, therefore making a valuable contribution to endorsing and enabling tourism to the region.”
Hilary’s first guidebook was Backpacking Along Ancient Ways in Peru and Bolivia, written in 1974, Bradt MD Adrian Phillips pointed out. Phillips accompanied Hilary to the event. “It was the first description by anyone of the Inca Trail,” he says. While the industry has moved one, “that stitch-bound little yellow book remains a symbol of Hilary’s pioneering spirit.”
Our congratulations to Hilary!
