On the evening of 22 October, AITO, the Specialist Travel Association, announced the winners of the AITO 2025 Travel Writer of the Year awards at its annual ceremony, held at the Leonardo Royal Hotel London City. These awards recognised two celebrated National Geographic Traveller (UK) contributors: 

• Lorna Parkes, executive editor of National Geographic Traveller (UK), took home gold in the over 1,500 words category for her feature ‘Of Tides & Time’. One of the judges applauded her for “[conveying] the atmosphere of both scenery and senses extremely well — a region I’m unfamiliar with but am certainly intrigued by now.” Read the full story here. 

• Freelance contributor Ben Lerwill was recognised in third place as AITO Travel Writer of the Year for his article ‘Pakistan’s mountains are calling — here’s why you should go’, which dived into the country’s proud cultural identity found in the northern peaks. Ben is a long-standing contributor to National Geographic Traveller (UK). Read the full story here.  

The awards, split into five different categories, were assessed according to four criteria, across two rounds of judging. They were looking for copy that was inspirational, informative and interesting — and, of course, well-written.    

Martyn Sumners, executive director of AITO, said: “We had a record number of entries for the 2025 AITO Travel Writer of the Year Awards — over 500! As ever, the standard of the travel writing was extremely high, and we would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to the extremely worthy winners in each category — and, indeed, to thank all who entered the AITO Travel Writer of the Year Awards.    

APL Media would like to congratulate the winners and other nominated writers, Amanda Canning and Georgia Stephens, for their continuously excellent storytelling abilities. 

### 

About APL Media 
APL Media is a multi-award-winning content marketing agency and publisher, producing 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, supported by brand extensions including guides, events and digital platforms. The portfolio also features Living360, a digital lifestyle brand covering wellness, travel, food, sustainability and culture, distributed via national media and its own platform. APL Media delivers custom content, branded campaigns, editorial consultancy and leading events such as the Travel Media Awards and Step Up. Its trade titles include Postcards and the ASTA Worldwide Destination Guide, with content also produced for national newspapers. 
aplmedia.co.uk