The Travel Media Awards has had the honour of presenting the Special Contribution Award to a remarkable individual making a significant impact in travel media, over the past decade.  

APL Media is delighted to celebrate the Travel Media Awards 2024, held in association with Visit Qatar, on 28 October at the Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane. Ahead of the event, APL Media is proud to honour this year’s recipient, Sir Michael Palin CBE, alongside the previous nine distinguished awardees: 

Pippa Jacks, editorial director of TTG Media (2023) 
Pippa began her journey with a work experience placement at TTG Magazine in 2006 — and never left. She and the wider team at TTG have been recognised with a plethora of awards including the Travel Media Awards’ Trade Publication of the Year award — both print and online — in 2020, 2021 and 2022. 

Tony Wheeler, publishing entrepreneur and travel writer (2022) 
With 100 million Lonely Planet guidebooks published in English by 2010 and more than 500 different titles, Tony created an extraordinary legacy of travel publishing.  

Ade Adepitan, Paralympic medallist, TV presenter and journalist (2021) 
The Paralympic athlete’s television work has taken him across the globe: presenting The Travel Show for BBC World News, going undercover with Channel 4’s Dispatches, and reporting foreign affairs and travel stories for Unreported World. 

Levison Wood, adventurer, author and photographer (2020) 
Levison has worked and travelled in over 100 countries and has written seven best-selling books. He has produced six critically acclaimed documentaries which have aired around the world. He is a major in the British Army, having served in the Parachute Regiment for 13 years. 

Hilary Bradt, co-founder of Bradt Travel Guides (2019) 
In 1974, while living in South America, Hilary founded the award-winning Bradt Travel Guides, almost by accident, when no other publisher was willing to commission a hiking guide to Peru and Bolivia. Since then, Hilary’s love of travel, especially to more obscure destinations, has meant her books have focused on opening up new destinations to tourists. 

Lisa Minot, travel editor of The Sun (2018) 
The Sun’s full-time travel editor since 1999, Lisa has overseen the travel section from just one page a week to the two weekly sections the paper carries today. She regularly appears on TV and radio to comment on travel stories. 

Rick Stein, chef, restaurateur and television presenter (2017) 
Rick’s love of travel and cooking bodes excellently for tourism, encouraging viewers to discover for themselves the cultural and culinary gems of each destination. His cooking escapades have also taken him to such far-flung destinations as India, Istanbul and East Asia. 

Michael Portillo, journalist and broadcaster (2016) 
Known for presenting TV favourites including Great Railway Journeys and Long Weekends, Michael has taken viewers along the historic railroads of the United Kingdom, Europe and beyond for years – a testament to the importance and popularity of his programmes, intellectual rigor and boundless enthusiasm as a presenter. 

Simon Reeve, author and television presenter (2015) 
Described by the BBC as ‘one of the world’s most adventurous travellers’, Simon has spent more than a decade making over 80 programmes and is well known for his extraordinary journeys, having visited more than 120 countries worldwide.  

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About APL Media    

An award-winning publisher and content marketing agency founded in 1997, APL Media Limited has been changing the narrative, and the way clients communicate with their audiences, for over 27 years. In addition to publishing the award-winning magazines National Geographic Traveller (UK) and Food by National Geographic Traveller (UK) and organising related events under the National Geographic brand umbrella, APL Media produces print, digital and live media across the travel and lifestyle sector. aplmedia.co.uk