Broadcaster, author and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Anita Rani will receive the Special Contribution Award at this year’s Travel Media Awards, held at The Savoy on Monday 26 October.

The award recognises someone who has made a significant contribution to travel storytelling — on screen, on air or in print — and this year’s judges were unanimous in their decision.

Rani is known to millions through BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, which she presents every Thursday and Friday, and more than a decade fronting BBC One’s Countryfile. In 2025, audiences saw a different side to her in Celebrity Race Across the World, where she travelled with her father, Bal, across the Caribbean and Colombia. Rani has since spoken about what those five weeks meant to her, calling it a privilege to share them with her dad, given that proper holidays were never part of a childhood built around her parents’ work ethic.

Travel runs through the rest of her career, too. As an ambassador for Discover the World she’s reported from Iceland, the Arctic and Costa Rica and, as a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador she’s travelled to Kyrgyzstan to meet stateless families and narrated Forced to Flee, a podcast told entirely in the words of displaced people, which went on to win a Webby Award. She’s also Chancellor of the University of Bradford and is The Sunday Times bestselling author of The Right Sort of Girl.

In 2025, Rani launched her YouTube channel, ItsAnitaRani, followed in 2026 by Sisters of Defiance, her acclaimed video and audio podcast celebrating extraordinary women and the stories behind their success. The first series featured guests including Dame Meera Syal, Emma Grede, Gisèle Pelicot, Beverley Knight and Anoushka Shankar, reaching number one in two Apple podcast categories and earning a place on The Guardian’s Best Podcasts of 2026 So Far. Following the success of its debut series, Sisters of Defiance will return for a second season later this year.

Rani said: “Travel broadens your horizons, opens your mind and humbles you. Seeing the world from different perspectives, breathtaking landscapes, bustling cities, tasting new flavours, meeting people from other cultures and hearing stories, you see that there’s so much to learn and enjoy and how humanity is the same wherever you go. I’m incredibly privileged to have travelled as much as I have and I have no intention to stop. Where are we off to next?”

Anthony Leyens, chairman of APL Media, said: “We’re delighted to honour Anita Rani with the Special Contribution Award at the Travel Media Awards 2026. Through her broadcasting, writing and humanitarian work, Anita has brought people, places and cultures to life with warmth, intelligence and curiosity. We very much look forward to celebrating her achievements at The Savoy in October.”

The Special Contribution Award will be presented on the night at The Savoy, alongside the winners of this year’s Travel Media Awards categories, chosen from hundreds of submissions across national and international travel journalism.

Tickets for the Travel Media Awards 2026 go on sale today, with early bird pricing of £125 available until 22 September, rising to £150 from 23 September. The shortlist will be announced on 9 September.

The Travel Media Awards 2026 in association with Aspire Pre-flight Hospitality.

Consumer Media Sponsor: easyJet holidays

Sponsored by Battersea Power Station, easyJet holidays, Holafly, Intrepid Travel, Marella Cruises, Mail Metro Media, Nova Scotia, Princess Cruises, Sky Media, Switzerland Tourism, The Independent, The Telegraph, TUI, Visit Cyprus and Visit Jersey.

For more information and to enter, visit travelmediaawards.com

Key dates:

2 September — Tickets on sale

9 September — Finalists announced

26 October — Awards ceremony takes place at The Savoy, London

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About APL Media 
APL Media is a multi-award-winning content marketing agency and publisher, creating high-quality print, digital and live media across the travel and lifestyle sectors since 1997. It has published National Geographic Traveller (UK) under licence from National Geographic Partners LLC since 2010, alongside brand extensions including guides, events and digital platforms. Its portfolio includes Living360, a digital lifestyle brand spanning wellness, travel, food, sustainability and culture.  

APL Media delivers custom content, branded campaigns and editorial consultancy, internship schemes including Step Up and produces leading events such as the Travel Media Awards. It is also a leading reseller of advertising for national newspapers. Its trade titles include Postcards and the ASTA Worldwide Destination Guide, with content also created for national newspapers. aplmedia.co.uk