29 March 2021, London: The Travel Media Awards is proud to announce the Italian National Tourist Board as the 2021 headline sponsor.

Flavio Zappacosta, manager for the UK and Ireland at the Italian National Tourist Board, says: “We’re delighted to be headline sponsor for the Travel Media Awards 2021. The event is such an important appointment for all UK travel media and we really wanted to be part of it — especially in these difficult times, as we aim to be as close as possible to the travel media, working together to restart travel and tourism to our country.”

Anthony Leyens, chief executive of APL Media and joint co-founder of the Travel Media Awards, said, “we’re really pleased to have the Italian National Tourist Board as our headline sponsor for 2021. We are committed to working together to promote Italy as a destination we’re all looking forward to returning to, as well as our shared goal of celebrating editorial quality and excellence through the Travel Media Awards.”

The Italian National Tourist Board is promoting many new attractions and ideas, including the newly reopened Mausoleum of Augustus in Rome; Procida island, named as Italy’s Capital of Culture for 2022; Cortina d’Ampezzo in the Dolomites, which will host the Winter Olympics in 2026 together with Milan. There’s also Le Vie di Dante, an award-winning itinerary from Florence to Ravenna, recounting the steps the poet walked in his exile from Tuscany to Emilia-Romagna. Other key points of interest are new sides to familiar destinations, such as artisan shops in Florence or food markets in Rome. Spa towns and outdoor activities such as wild swimming and trekking are also in the mix, as well as solo holidays, family breaks and more.

The Travel Media Awards are judged by some of the UK’s most influential travel figures from a wide cross section of the industry, alongside travel editors and writers; unique to the Travel Media Awards is its commitment that 25% of all judges are new to the awards, and that no one judges the same category year on year. The awards are currently open for entries and will be accepting submissions until 7 May 2021.

Key dates for the 2021 Travel Media Awards:

7 May — entries close
6 September — finalists announced
13 September — recipient of Special Contribution Award announced
18 October — awards ceremony takes place

For more information, visit travelmediaawards.com or contact:
T: 020 3818 5600
E: [email protected]

Notes for Editors

The Travel Media Awards was launched in 2015 to celebrate the very best of the travel media sector. Open to all travel writers, broadcasters and photographers, the awards acts as a true barometer of the travel media sector. The Travel Media Awards is owned and operated under a joint venture agreement between Travega and APL Media Limited.

The 2020 awards were held as a successful online event, with more than 300 travel media and industry professionals watching. The event saw 22 publications, broadcasters, journalists and photographers awarded prestigious trophies. They included adventurer, author and photographer Levison Wood, who was presented with the Special Contribution Award. travelmediaawards.com

Now in its seventh year, these prestigious accolades are respected and trusted throughout the industry thanks to a rigorous judging process. The only UK national awards recognising excellence and achievement within all forms of the travel media, the winners will be announced at a ceremony at Kimpton Fitzroy London Hotel on Monday 18 October.

APL Media Limited works across the travel and lifestyle sectors in a number of media, from print through to events. APL Media produces the award-winning National Geographic Traveller (UK), National Geographic Traveller Food, Postcards, and a series of lifestyle newspaper supplements, apps and websites. aplmedia.co.uk

Travega offers a wide range of travel marketing and sales solutions for both the leisure and business travel sectors; these include creating and delivering sponsorship revenues for some of the leading events in the UK travel industry, including the ABTA Travel and UKinbound Conventions, alongside the management of events for other leading travel brands. travega.co.uk