Welcome pack

Welcome to the British Guild of Travel Writers — we are delighted you could join us! To be a member of the BGTW is to be a part of the UK’s leading organisation of travel media professionals since its foundation in 1960.

Our community of more than 260 accredited writers, photographers, bloggers and broadcasters is seen as the trusted body for independent comment and expert content on worldwide travel – you’re in good company.

Always feel free to email Chris on [email protected]g if you have a suggestion for something the Guild could do – or if you just want to say hello. Thanks for being a part of the BGTW!

And welcome from me, Sarah, too! We are here to ensure that you get the best from your membership of the BGTW.

If you have suggestions of others who might like to join us, please do let me know.

We are always keen to hear about travel creatives who would benefit from BGTW membership. Get in touch at [email protected].

The membership subscription year runs from 1 October – 30 September.

The BGTW press card is accredited across the world and allows for discounted or even free entry to hundreds of attractions. To see an interactive map of some of the weird, wonderful and far-flung places Guild members have visited – and received free or discounted entry to thanks to their BGTW press card – go to bgtw.org/press-card-map.

Once you start using your card, please help us populate the map by sending an email to [email protected] with the name of the place (eg. ‘Churchill War Rooms‘), the city/destination (eg. ‘London‘), and ‘F‘ for free or ‘D‘ for discounted.

The BGTW has teamed up with close to 40 business to give you a raft of savings – car hire and parking, travel clothing, hotels, insurance and more.  Each one has been carefully selected to not only give you a cost benefit but also help you on your next assignment.

A list of your exclusive benefits can be found here: bgtw.org/benefits. When you have chosen a benefit, you will need to log in to the website, using the details given to you upon the success of your application, to access details for how to redeem.

BGTW Zoom: If you need over 45 minutes, you may be able to use the Guild Zoom. Email Charlotte with details.

We host monthly professional development meetings on topics such as pitching, the ethics of travel writing, the impact of generational tourism and sustainable travel.

The details of these will be emailed to you as they are organised – usually at least two months before the date of the event. If you are unable to make it on the day, fear not, these meetings will be recorded.

Past webinars: Benefits include access to all our discussions and Social with Media recordings (exclusively for members).

Neil Taylor coordinate the provision of a number of small bespoke press trips for Guild members. These will be advertised to members when appropriate and may take the form of a single day or multi-day trips.

If you have any suggestions or contacts you think would appreciate hosting such trips please contact Valery Collins.

The BGTW has a living archive at Surrey University in Guildford, with John Ruler as the current Archivist. These archives are open to students of the University, researchers and Guild members and contain a wealth of resource tracing the British travel industry back some 60 years.

If you have anything you would like to contribute to the archive or would like to be more involved in this facet of the Guild, please contact [email protected] for further information.

Each year the Guild celebrates tourism initiatives around the world by awarding a project in each of three main regions: UK & Ireland, Europe and the Wider World.

Members are asked to nominate projects that:

• have opened within the previous three-year period
• have a positive social impact, such as creating local jobs
• are considerate of accessibility needs, and  
• are environmentally conscious and sustainable in nature.  

Guild members are asked to nominate projects they come across during their travels that meet these criteria. If the projects are selected then the nominating member petitions the membership to support their project at the International Tourism Awards Selection evening, held annually in September.

During the selection evening, short presentations of each project are judged and a shortlist of three projects in each category is created. That shortlist is then taken to all members for the final vote, which determines the winner in each category.  The nominee and representative for each shortlisted project are then invited to the Annual Gala Awards Dinner on the eve of WTM where the winners will be announced.

These awards are more than 40 years old and provide many benefits to both the projects that are nominated and the members who nominate them. Firstly, there is the coverage for the projects via our social media and website, giving many smaller and less known projects a well-needed boost whilst raising the profile of the member. The process also enhances relationships between PRs and Guild members and engenders good future working relationships.

To learn more about the history of the International Tourism Awards and the projects that have been beneficiaries check out bgtw.org/awards/tourism-awards.

The British Guild of Travel Writers commends the best work of its members in a series of awards judged by travel industry professionals. These awards are free to enter for all full members; information on how will be emailed to members in due course.

A shortlist of prospective winners in each category will be announced in early September. Members who have won awards in the past will attest to their value, especially relating to exposure and interest in their work by commissioning editors, PRs and Tourist Boards interested in gaining destination and client exposure.

The winning entries are announced at the BGTW Awards Event on the eve of WTM in November. The winners will receive a cash prize. For more information, go to bgtw.org/awards/members-awards.

Each year the Annual General Meeting is held as required by our Articles of Association. The meeting is open to all Full and Honorary Life members to attend as well as the two Associate Representatives. At the meeting there are core items that must be discussed and the Board is required to report to the membership on the previous year.

Additional motions may be raised by the Board and the membership to alter the Articles or Regulations of the organisation and equally, members can also raise motions to be discussed that must be voted on. Each full member of the Guild has the right to vote on all of the motions either in person or via a proxy voting system.

To understand the procedures, please review the Articles and Regulations, which can be found in our online library bgtw.org/library. In addition, the AGM is usually held as a part of a larger press trip either domestically or abroad.

The trip traditionally allows for two types of attendees: those who attend for the two to four days which surround the AGM meeting and contain a couple of familiarisation activities, the AGM and a dinner. The other element known as the pre- or post-fam element allows for a number of members to attend smaller themed fam trips in smaller groups.

The understanding is that those attending the additional trips would do so with a commission or the high likelihood of securing a commission as one would when attending any professional press trip. When the time is right (around October) you will receive a notification to register to attend the AGM and associated trips via the Secretariat.

Each year the Guild holds a gathering during the UK summer months. This often aims to celebrate tourism in the UK itself and offers a chance to meet other Guild members with minimal travel time. This is a relaxed, sociable event and is open to all Guild members.

The BGTW Annual Gala Awards Dinner is held in November on the eve of World Travel Market in London and is when the Guild presents their International Tourism Awards and their Members’ Excellence Awards.

It is attended by the leading lights of the travel industry. Tickets are highly sought-after and sell at a premium. There is a special subsidised price provided for members.

Members are asked to encourage their own contacts to purchase tickets.

There are nine tickets available for the lucky members whose International Tourism Award projects are shortlisted as they will need to invite and host their project representative at the event as mentioned in the Awards section, above.

An annual December gathering will offer the chance to unwind and catch up with fellow Guild members as the festive season hits full-speed. Details for this are normally announced in September

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. You can also follow fellow members on this BGTW members list.

Instagramposts: 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.

Join the members-only Facebook group: BGTW Members to share work issues, ask questions and get informal reminders for events, awards etc.
Note: Please don’t invite non-members to join. We have to Admit or Decline all requests; if they’re not a member, we have to decline.

Global Travel Media Alliance: This is for members of the BGTW, SATW (Society of American Travel Writers), ASTW (Australian Society of Travel Writers) and VDRJ (German Association of Travel Writers). Note: This forum is relatively inactive atm but watch this space. Join here.