06 Sep 2015
Australia's best travel writers and public relations professionals were honoured at the annual ASTW Awards for excellence at a gala awards ceremony held in the spiritual heart of Australia at the Uluru Meeting Place, Ayers Rock Resort on Saturday evening 5 September.
The Awards ceremony was part of the annual convention and AGM of the society, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Over 100 people travelled from across Australia to take part in the convention.
“The ASTW's members represent the leading writers, editors, publishers, content creators and public relations professionals of the Australian travel industry. Over 350 entries were received across the 16 Award categories with an exceptional calibre of entrants. I believe the judging was extremely close for some categories,” said ASTW president Kerry Heaney.
“Indeed it is an honour to be a finalist in these awards and I congratulate all of the finalists together with the winners. I would also like to thank each of the sponsors together with Tourism Northern Territory, who were the major sponsor of this year's convention.
In all 16 winners were announced with the Ben Groundwater given the highest honour of Australian Travel Writer of the Year for 2015.
Please see table of winners below.
For more information on the ASTW, visit www.astw.org.au.
ENDS
For more information, please contact:
Karena Noble
PR Member 2015 ASTW Committee
+61 418 912 162
2015 ASTW Awards for Excellence
|
Category |
Winner |
Story/Project/publication |
Publication |
Sponsor |
|
Travel Writer of the Year |
Ben Groundwater |
A day in the life of an Argentine cowboy Where to find real cowboys Why you should visit a Muslim country |
SMH Traveller The Age |
Tourism NT |
|
Travel Photographer of the Year |
Jocelyn Pride
|
Castaway Hideaway Flyaway |
International Traveller Luxury Travel |
Nikon Australia |
|
PR – Best Communicator or Communications team of the Year |
Karena Noble |
Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia The communication of the rejuvenation of an iconic Australian destination. This has resulted in a high demand in domestic and international markets and substantially increased occupancy for the Resort. |
Not applicable – individual award |
Travmedia |
|
Best Travel and Tourism Story |
John Borthwick
|
Thailand's cutting edge industry
|
The West Australian |
Wellcamp Airport |
|
Best Australian Travel Story |
Andrew Bain |
Savannah Strolling |
Australian Geographic |
Tourism Australia |
|
Best International Travel Story – under 1000 words |
Kerry van der Jagt |
A feeling for ice |
Get up and Go |
Macau Government Tourist Office |
|
Best International Travel Story – over 1000 words |
Catherine Marshall
|
Myanmar: how tourism has transformed this south-east Asian hotspot |
Fairfax Traveller |
Accor Group |
|
Best Adventure Travel Story |
Andrew Bain
|
Small stature, great heights
|
Fairfax Traveller |
Voyages Ayers Rock Resort |
|
Best Responsible Tourism Story |
Jocelyn Pride
|
The Mane Event
|
National Geographic Traveller Australia And New Zealand Online |
Tourism Authority of Thailand |
|
Best Cruise Travel Story |
Kerry van der Jagt
|
Amazon River cruise in Peru: Close Encounters
|
The Sydney Morning Herald The Age |
South Pacific Tourism Organisation |
|
Best Travel Story about the 2014 AGM host Destination FIJI (NEW) |
Catherine Marshall |
The underwater milky way
|
Fairfax Traveller
|
Marine Tourism Management |
|
Best Travel Blog or Travel App of the Year (NEW) |
Rob Dunlop
|
Thirst For Sydney
|
Not applicable |
Tourism Australia |
|
Best Digital Innovation |
Lee Atkinson
|
OzyRoadTripper does the Big Lap
|
Not applicable |
ASTW |
|
Best Food Travel Story |
Ben Groundwater
|
Where to find the best pizza in Naples
|
SMH Traveller The Age Traveler.com.au |
Juddery Family & Visit Canberra |
|
PR – Best PR Campaign of the Year – Digital or Traditional |
Klick Communications
|
Klick Communications developed a strategic campaign to increase awareness and visitation to the Mudgee Region, by engaging a new and younger generation of traveller. Klick acted on strategic insights and pre-campaign learnings to determine just who those visitors were, implementing both traditional PR and digital tactics to host the ultimate Mudgee Smuggler experience.
|
Not applicable |
Travmedia |
|
PR – Best Tourism Organisation or Travel Product |
GTI Tourism |
In March 2015, Vanuatu was hit by a category five cyclone which left devastation in its path. This caused havoc for Vanuatu's major industry, tourism, which accounts for around 6,000 jobs. Subsequent media coverage spiralled and with limited communications inaccurate information quickly spread, causing alarm amongst the travel trade and travellers. |
Not applicable |
Travmedia |
