Christine Retschlag, a member of the Australian Society of Travel Writers, has won the PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) Gold Award for Travel Journalism for her destination article ‘Go Slow in the Solomons’, which was published in Wellbeing magazine last month.

Retschlag, who will travel to Macau in September to receive the award, said she visited the Solomon Islands not knowing what to expect. “Cheap, fresh lobster every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner, some of the best snorkeling in the world, and the friendliest people. To be able to increase the awareness of a destination that relies so heavily on tourism for its survival, by capturing its magic in words and photos, is an incredible feeling.”

Retschlag is one of a number of ASTW members who have won global travel industry awards in recent weeks. Julie Miller won the NTIA award for Best Travel Writer for her story ‘Elephant in the Room’ about ethical elephant encounters in Thailand. Jocelyn Pride’s account of trekking north to one of the world’s very first ecotourism sites, ‘Alaska Untouched’, won her the Best US Travel Destination Article at the IPW Travel Writer Awards in the US.

Meanwhile, ASTW writer members Tracey Croke (The Talas Traverse, ambmag.com.au), Catherine Marshall (The Big Chill, The Australian) and John Borthwick (TBC) have each been nominated as finalists in the 2017 NRMA Kennedy Awards for Excellence in the Outstanding Travel Writing category. The winner will be announced at Royal Randwick in Sydney on 11 August.

The ASTW will present its own travel awards at the Travel Journalism Awards for Excellence gala evening on 19 August 2017. The celebration of outstanding travel writing, photography and tourism communications is part of the annual ASTW Convention to be held on the Sunshine Coast from 18-20 August 2017.

On behalf of the ASTW, President Danielle Lancaster offered her congratulations to winners. “The fact that these major travel industry awards and nominations are going to ASTW members is a fitting build-up to our own travel industry event later this month. It will make for a very exciting evening”.

For more information about ASTW or to become a member, visit www.astw.org.au or contact Secretariat, Justine White, on secretariat@astw.org.au.

About the ASTW

The ASTW is a 300-strong group of travel writers, editors, radio and television broadcasters, bloggers, guide book authors and photographers (as well as travel industry public relations and marketing professionals) whose work appears regularly in major newspapers, magazines, airwaves and websites across Australia and the world.

All ASTW members must satisfy strict criteria to join and are obligated to substantiate their membership annually by providing details of their published output or industry participation. They must also adhere to a Code of Ethics. By ensuring that only bona fide applicants are admitted, the ASTW maintains its integrity and the professionalism of the travel industry.