Celebrating the best of the travel media industry 

23 October 2023, London. The winners of the Travel Media Awards 2023, in association with the Moroccan National Tourist Office, have been announced. The ceremony, held at The Savoy in London, saw 127 finalists compete across a range of categories covering all areas in print, digital, broadcasting and photography. Many of the industry’s leading figures were in attendance, some of whom were fortunate enough to walk away with a coveted Travel Media Awards trophy.   

Among the winners were The Sunday Times Travel for National Broadsheet Newsprint Section of the Year and The Sun for National Tabloid Newsprint Section of the Year.  

In the new Sustainability Travel Writer of the Year category, Holly Tuppen was the inaugural winner. The judges said: “Holly’s research and expertise within the responsible travel sector shines in abundance throughout her writing.” Separately, the Sustainability Travel Feature of the Year had joint winners, with articles by Phoebe Smith and Sam Haddad for The Guardian chosen for this category. 

Writer Adrian Phillips’s spectacular piece ‘Into the Deep’ — published by National Geographic Traveller (UK) — also impressed the judges, with the panel naming it National Consumer Feature of the Year. Ben Clatworthy of The Times took home the trophy for Breaking Travel News and Jacqui Agate was named as the 2023 Young Writer of the Year. 

The 2023 Special Contribution Award went to TTG’s Pippa Jacks. Pippa began her journey with a work experience placement at TTG Magazine in 2006 before joining the team as features writer, later becoming features editor, then taking the helm as editor of the 70-year-old trade publication between 2013 and 2017. As editorial director, Pippa now manages an award-winning team of 14 editorial staff across TTG’s print magazines, digital channels and events.  

Anthony Leyens, co-founder of the Travel Media Awards and CEO of APL Media, said: “After a difficult few years for the industry, it’s truly inspiring to see it in such good health. The works produced by this year’s finalists are some of the best to date, so thank you to the entrants, the finalists, the judges and everyone who came to this year’s ceremony. We’ll see you in 2024!”  

Giles Harper, co-founder of the Travel Media Awards and managing director of Travega, added: “Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s Travel Media Awards and ensured that the night went as spectacularly as it did. Additionally, I would like to thank our headline sponsor, the Moroccan National Tourist Office; our consumer media partner, easyJet Holidays; and all our category sponsors. This event would not have been possible without your continued commitment and generosity, for which we are all very grateful.”  

As part of the Awards, it was announced a new scheme would be introduced: Travel Media Awards Step Up – in partnership with APL Media, Finn Partners, Intrepid Travel and TTG Media, a new internship programme driving diversity and inclusion in travel media. The scheme seeks to create opportunities for young people looking to move into travel publishing, journalism and PR, offering two candidates the chance to join our partner companies in London for a paid internship position in summer 2024. Applications will be open from 1 November. For more details and to enter, please visit: travelmediaawards.com/awards/en/page/step-up-internship 

THE WINNERS IN FULL:  

National Broadsheet Newsprint Section  

The Sunday Times Travel  

National Tabloid Newsprint Section  

The Sun  

Consumer Publication of the Year – Print  

Condé Nast Traveller UK  

Consumer Publication of the Year – Online   

FT Globetrotter  

National Consumer Feature of the Year  

Adrian Phillips for ‘Into the Deep’ in National Geographic Traveller (UK)  

Consumer Magazine Section of the Year  

Good Housekeeping  

Trade Publication of the Year – Print   

The Business Travel Magazine  

Trade Publication of the Year – Online   

TTG  

Trade Writer of the Year  

Sophie Griffiths, TTG  
Sustainability Travel Feature of the Year   

Sam Haddad for ‘“It’s still as beautiful as ever”: the changing face of the French Alps’ in The Guardian  

Phoebe Smith for ‘Thailand cove made famous in The Beach reopens to visitors after four-year closure’ in The Guardian  

Sustainability Travel Writer of the Year   

Holly Tuppen  

Blogger/Vlogger of the Year  

Alex Hunter, Attaché  

Guide of the Year – Book, Online, App  

111 Places in County Durham That You Shouldn’t Miss, Elizabeth Atkin 

Breaking Travel News – Print, Broadcast and Online  

Ben Clatworthy, The Times  

Regional Publication Feature of the Year  

Ben Lerwill for ‘The joy of the search’ in Hidden Scotland Magazine  

Photography Award  

Mark Parren Taylor  

Customer Content   

Much Better Adventures Magazine  

Young Travel Writer of the Year  

Jacqui Agate  

Specialist Travel Writer of the Year  

Jamie Lafferty, South America 

Broadcast Programme of the Year – TV, Radio, Online and Podcast  

BBC 100 Women – The Last of Albania’s ‘Sworn Virgins’, BBC World Service and BBC Reel  

Consumer Writer of the Year  

Ed Grenby  

Special Contribution Award  

Pippa Jacks  

Download the photos from the event here.

Notes:  

The Travel Media Awards (TMAs) launched in 2015, celebrating the very best of the travel media sector. The event  was created in recognition of the hugely influential role that today’s travel media plays in the travel decision-making process. Open to all travel writers, broadcasters and photographers, the TMAs is a true barometer of the travel media sector. The TMAs is owned and operated under a joint venture agreement between Travega and APL Media Limited. A team of independent shortlisters narrowed down a list of finalists in each category and a panel of 62 travel industry and media experts decided the winners. Note, for the purposes of fairness and transparency, no travel titles by APL Media are entered into the awards. However, individual writers are permitted to submit their own work.  

The 2023 Travel Media Awards is sponsored by the Moroccan National Tourist Office, easyJet holidays, Visit Qatar, battleface, Croatian National Tourist Board, Exclusive Collection, Hong Kong Tourism Board, Ikos Resorts, Intrepid Travel, Kuoni, Marriott Bonvoy, Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority, Nova Scotia Tourist Board, Princess Cruises, Silversea, Travel Texas, True Traveller, The Media People, The Savoy (venue partner) and Visit Malta. travelmediaawards.com  

APL Media Limited is an award-winning agency that specialises in creating multi-channel content for consumer and trade audiences, primarily in the travel and lifestyle sectors. It produces the award-winning National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine, as well as Food by National Geographic Traveller  (UK) and a series of lifestyle newspaper supplements, apps and websites. aplmedia.co.uk  

Travega offers a wide range of travel marketing solutions to companies within both the leisure and business travel sectors, including revenue generation for some of the UK’s leading travel industry events, alongside bespoke event creation and third-party event management. travega.co.uk