Entry to the Travel Media Awards 2025

  

Entrants can submit work in 24 categories, covering a wide range of travel media sectors free of charge. On this page, you’ll find the award categories and details of eligibility. Below are the categories for the 2025 Travel Media Awards, which will take place on Monday 13th October at the Pan Pacific, London.

This category is open to both consumer and trade travel writers and journalists who have reported on accessible travel.

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  • Nominees should submit three examples of their work published in print or online between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025.

  • This entry features an optional, 100-word supporting statement outlining the writer’s unique contribution to travel media within the context of this category.


  • Judges will be looking for a travel journalist who has consistently produced outstanding content about accessible travel. Stories should be engaging, well-crafted and original.


  • Judges will be expecting to see breadth of subject matter and depth of research in submissions.


  • Judges are looking for media that raises awareness of the issues around accessible travel while remaining inspiring and informative.

This category is open to both consumer and trade travel writers and journalists.

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  • Nominees should submit three examples of news stories they have had published in print, broadcast and/or online between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025.

  • Judges will seek to recognise a journalist who has demonstrated a strong ability to uncover and report breaking news relevant to a specific audience. The ideal candidate will have provided context for the story while maintaining a balance between the urgency of timely reporting and a commitment to factual accuracy.

  • Judges will look at the entries in the wider context of how the event was covered in the media, judging whether the nominee has been able to look at information from a different angle or add original reporting.

This category is open for programmes made for radio, podcast and online channels (excluding YouTube, Vimeo and SoundCloud). Submissions may include a one-off programme or one of a series of programmes, including features, audio-documentaries, interviews and phone-ins.

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  • Nominees should submit the URL of a radio or podcast programme broadcast in the UK between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025. If the programme is a series, they should submit the episode that, in their view, best represents the series as a whole. If the programme isn't public, a private link or temporary login is allowed.


  • Judges seek programmes that deliver informative, original and engaging storytelling while maintaining audience interest, aligning with the brand and demonstrating a clear understanding of the target audience.


  • Judges will reward programmes that make the most of the audio format to bring a destination, experience or event to life.

This category is open for programmes made for TV or online channels (excluding YouTube and Vimeo). Submissions may include a one-off programme or one of a series of programmes, including features, documentaries and interviews.

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  • Nominees should submit the URL of a television or online programme broadcast in the UK between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025. If the programme is a series, they should submit the episode that, in their view, best represents the series as a whole. If the programme isn't public, a private link or temporary login is allowed.


  • Judges are looking for programmes that demonstrate informative, original, thought-provoking and entertaining storytelling; keep the audience engaged for their entire duration; and are on-brand and show understanding of the target audience.


  • Judges will reward programmes that make the most of the video format to bring a destination, experience or event to life.

This award is for consumer magazines published regularly in print in the UK, with a minimum of three issues a year, that aren’t dedicated travel magazines but have printed travel sections.

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  • Nominees must submit three examples of their publication’s travel section published on different dates between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025.

  • Nominees should send PDFs or links to digital versions. If this is not possible, and with written approval from the organisers, five copies of each example can be sent to Sabera Sattar at APL Media Ltd, Unit 310 Highgate Studios, 53-79 Highgate Road, London NW5 1TL.

  • Judges will consider travel sections in their entirety and reward outstanding entries that demonstrate varied content, design, readability and photography.


  • Where relevant, judges will take into account whether the travel section is considerate of the magazine’s target audience.
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This award is open to all consumer travel magazines published in print in the UK on a regular basis, with a minimum of three issues a year.

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  • Nominees must submit three individual examples of their publication published in print on different dates between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025.


  • Nominees should send PDFs or links to digital versions. If this is not possible, and with written approval from the organisers, five copies of each example can be sent to Sabera Sattar at APL Media Ltd, Unit 310 Highgate Studios, 53-79 Highgate Road, London NW5 1TL.


  • Judges will consider the publications in their entirety. They’ll be looking for publications that are visually exciting, with well-written, engaging content and excellent photography. They’ll also be looking for content that displays a deep understanding of its target audience, is innovative in its approach and that looks to highlight or raise awareness of topical issues, where appropriate.
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This award is open to UK-based consumer travel websites or publications that are published regularly on a digital platform. Publications may be a website, digital magazine or published on an app.

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  • Digital magazines should send the URL of their publication and three issues between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025 that they wish to submit as examples. If relevant, they should also submit details on how to access the issues for free.


  • Websites should send the URLs of three articles posted between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025. Where relevant, they should also submit details on how to access those articles for free.


  • App-based publications should send instructions on how to download their app and three chosen issues between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025 that they wish to submit as examples. If relevant, they should also submit details on how to access those issues for free.


  • Judges will consider the content in its entirety. They’ll be looking for publications that are visually exciting, with well-written, engaging content and excellent photography. They’ll also be looking for content that shows understanding of its target audience, is innovative in its approach and that looks to highlight or raise awareness of topical issues, where appropriate.
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This award is open to professional consumer travel writers and journalists.
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  • Nominees should submit three examples of their work published in print or online between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025. 

  • This entry requires a 100-word supporting statement outlining the writer’s unique contribution to travel media within the context of this category.


  • Judges will be looking for a travel journalist who’s consistently written outstanding articles or features that are well researched, creative, original and appeal strongly to their target audience.


  • Judges will be expecting to see breadth and variety in the three pieces of content.

This award is open to UK travel content creators and producers who have been posting for 12 months or more (to 30 April 2025). Qualifying channels include personal blogs or websites and YouTube and Vimeo channels.

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  • Nominees should submit digital links to three examples of blog posts or videos posted between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025 (they may submit blogs, videos, audio or a combination of any).


  • Nominees must also provide: the name/handle of their profile; the number of average monthly unique visitors; page/video view figures for the three examples; details of additional reach and engagement via social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and X; and a target audience profile (max. 100 words). 


  • Judges will be expecting to see breadth and variety in the submissions and will consider both the quality of the entries and the quality of the nominees’ personal brand, as well as their ability to engage their audience.


  • In particular, the judges will look for material that’s on-brand and shows an understanding of the target audience. They will reward entries that are thought-provoking, entertaining and show original ideas or formats.
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This award is open to professional travel writers and journalists who specialise in cruise travel writing.

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  • Nominees should submit three examples of work published in print or online between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025 covering the cruise industry.

  • This entry features an optional, a 100-word supporting statement outlining the writer’s unique contribution to travel media within the context of this category.


  • Judges will be looking for a writer/journalist who shows creativity and originality. They’ll reward entries that demonstrate the author’s depth of knowledge and provide insight into the cruise travel industry.
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This award is open to business-to-customer travel-focused magazines and digital content produced for business-to-customer use which illustrate excellence in their market. Magazines must be published at least three times a year, while websites and website sections must be regularly updated.

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  • Nominees in print must submit three examples of their publication published between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025.


  • Digital magazines should submit the URL and three chosen issues as examples of their publication between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025. If relevant, they should also submit details on how to access those issues for free.


  • Websites and website sections should submit their URL and three examples of articles posted between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025. If relevant, they should also submit details on how to access those articles for free.


  • Judges will be looking for content that is visually exciting, with well-written, engaging features and excellent photography. They’ll also be looking for content that shows a deep understanding of its target audience, is innovative in its approach and looks to highlight or raise awareness of topical issues, where appropriate. 


  • Judges will be expecting to see breadth and variety in the three pieces of content, covering both the business and the wider industry, and will be taking into consideration how the brand has been developed.

This award is open to consumer or trade travel writers and journalists aged 30 and under who have been professionally published (for travel and non-travel-related work) for less than five years as of 30 April 2025.

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  • Nominees should submit three pieces of work published in print or online between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025.

  • This entry features an optional, 100-word supporting statement outlining the writer’s unique contribution to travel media within the context of this category.


  • Judges will be looking for a talented emerging writer who has written lively articles and who demonstrates creativity, originality and the ability to get behind the stories.

Nominated guides must have been published as a book, online or as an app between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025.

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  • Books: Nominees should submit two chapters that are representative of the book as a PDF link or digital links. If not available, nominees should clearly mark the submitted chapters and send five copies of the publication to Sabera Sattar at APL Media Ltd, Unit 310 Highgate Studios, 53-79 Highgate Road, London NW5 1TL. Books must be either a first edition or a major revision published in the UK.


  • Online or app: Nominees should send a link to the travel guide or body of work being entered. If relevant, they should also submit details on how to access the work for free. If necessary, submit representative articles, pages or chapters so that the entry doesn’t exceed 5,000 words.


  • Judges will be looking for a guide that demonstrates outstanding design and readability. They’ll reward content that demonstrates originality and good research, providing essential, easy-to-read insights to destinations that give the reader highlights and clear directions to places not to be missed.

This award is for printed UK national broadsheet newspapers published on a regular basis that have printed travel sections.

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  • Nominees must submit three examples of their publication’s travel section published on different dates between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025.


  • Nominees should send PDFs or links to digital versions. If this is not possible, and with written approval from the organisers, five copies of each example can be sent to Sabera Sattar at APL Media Ltd, Unit 310 Highgate Studios, 53-79 Highgate Road, London NW5 1TL, to be forwarded on to the judges.


  • Judges will be looking at national travel sections in their entirety. They’ll reward entries that demonstrate outstanding content, design, presentation, readability and photography.


  • Where relevant, judges will be taking into account whether the travel section is considerate of the newspaper’s target audience.

This award is open to all consumer travel writers and journalists.

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  • Features submitted must have been published in print or online between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025. 

  • Judges will be looking for national consumer travel features that are original, engaging, colourful, informative, well-crafted and easy to read.


  • Judges will be looking for writing that gives a sense of place and, where relevant, engages all the senses. They’ll reward content that describes a specific time and place while painting a picture of a wider culture, region or topic.
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This award is for printed UK national tabloid newspapers published on a regular basis that have printed travel sections.

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  • Nominees must submit three examples of their publication’s travel section published on different dates between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025.

  • Nominees should send PDFs or links to digital versions. If this is not possible, and with written approval from the organisers, five copies of each example can be sent to Sabera Sattar at APL Media Ltd, Unit 310 Highgate Studios, 53-79 Highgate Road, London NW5 1TL, to be forwarded on to the judges.

  • Judges will consider the national travel sections in their entirety. They will reward entries that demonstrate outstanding content, design, presentation, readability and photography.


  • Where relevant, judges will be taking into account whether the travel section is considerate of the tabloid’s target audience.

This award recognises the outstanding work of photographers published in UK travel publications, either in print or online.
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  • Nominees should submit five photographs from either a single feature or photo-story published in print or online in the UK between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025. Nominees should send PDFs or links to digital versions and, if relevant, details on how to access the features for free.


  • Nominees should submit the selected photographs as JPEGs (.jpg) of no more than 4MB.


  • The images will be judged as a body of work. Judges will be looking for compelling images, showing flair and originality and providing a sense of place. They’ll reward entries that tell a story about a particular destination, experience or event.


  • Judges will expect the entries to remain respectful of the people and cultures being portrayed.

This award is for features published in a title that’s only available regionally. Features will also be accepted if the publication is published nationally but the majority of the content, including the travel section, varies regionally.

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  • Regional features submitted must have been published in print or online between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025. 

  • Please state the region, city or area where the publication is distributed.


  • Judges will be looking for consumer travel features that are original, engaging, colourful, informative, well-crafted and easy to read.


  • Where relevant, judges will be rewarding content that shows understating of the publication’s region and target audience.

This award is open to professional travel writers and journalists who specialise in a particular country or geographic area.

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  • Nominees should submit three examples of work published in print or online between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025 covering their selected specialism.


  • This entry features an optional 100-word supporting statement outlining the writer’s unique contribution to travel media within the context of this category. Please state the specialist geographic area.


  • Judges will be looking for a writer/journalist who shows creativity and originality. They will reward entries that demonstrate the author's depth of knowledge and provide insight into their specialist topic.

This award is open to professional travel writers and journalists who specialise in a particular travel topic. Examples of a travel topic could include safari, luxury or food travel. Please note entries regarding cruises must be entered into the new Cruise Travel Writer of the Year category and will not be accepted in this category.

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  • Nominees should submit three examples of work published in print or online between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025 covering their selected specialism. 

  • This entry features an optional, 100-word supporting statement outlining the writer’s unique contribution to travel media within the context of this category. Please state the specialist topic.


  • Judges will be looking for a writer/journalist who shows creativity and originality. They’ll reward entries that demonstrate the author’s depth of knowledge and provide insight into their specialist topic.

This category is open to both consumer and trade travel writers and journalists who have reported on sustainable travel.
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  • Features submitted must have been published in print or online between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025. 

  • Judges will be looking for features about sustainable travel that are well-written, original, easy to read, well-researched and accurate throughout.


  • They’ll reward entries that raise awareness of the issues and sustainable travel options; remain inspiring and informative, striking a good balance between providing readers with tips on how to travel sustainably while painting a colourful picture of the destination or experience discussed; and show awareness and consideration of the publication’s target audience.

This category is open to both consumer and trade travel writers and journalists who have reported on sustainable travel.

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  • Nominees should submit three examples of their work published in print or online between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025. 


  • This entry features an optional, 100-word supporting statement outlining the writer’s unique contribution to travel media within the context of this category.


  • Judges will be looking for a travel journalist who’s consistently produced outstanding content about sustainable travel. Stories should be engaging, well-crafted and original in their approach.


  • Judges will be expecting to see breadth of subject and depth of research in submissions.


  • Judges are looking for media that raises awareness of the issues around sustainable travel while remaining inspiring and informative.
    Sponsored by:

    This award is open to travel trade publications that are updated or published on both print and digital platforms on a regular basis.

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    • Print titles must submit three examples of their publication published on different dates between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025.


    • Websites should send the URL of their site and the URLs of three articles posted between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025.


    • Digital magazines should send three chosen issues between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025 they want to use as examples of their publication. Where relevant, they should also submit details on how to access the issues for free.


    • App-based publications should send instructions on how to download their app, and three chosen issues between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025 they want to use as examples. Where relevant, they should also submit details on how to access the content for free.


    • Judges will consider online trade publications in their entirety. They will reward entries that are well presented and informative, providing readers with a balanced range of compelling and relevant content, news, analysis and practical insights into travel products and destinations.

    This award is open to professional trade travel writers and journalists.
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    • Nominees should submit three individual examples of their work published in print or online between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025. 

    • This entry features an optional, 100-word supporting statement outlining the writer’s unique contribution to travel media within the context of this category.


    • Judges will be looking for a trade writer/journalist with the consistent ability to access exclusive angles and who shows creativity and originality. They’ll reward articles or features that are engaging, informative and make compelling reading.
    How to enter

    Questions about your entry? Contact us on entry@travelmediaawards.com or 0203 746 2321.