The UK's most senior broadcaster to host prestigious ceremony at the climax of IMM on 10 March, with 22 trophies to be awarded to media, influencers and PRs

TravMedia today announced that John Humphrys, one of Britain's best known and most controversial broadcasters, will host the inaugural TravMedia Awards.

The Award winners will be announced on a gala ceremony on the evening of 10 March 2020 at the QEII Centre, London, at the culmination of TravMedia's two-day IMM event (www.travmediaawards.com | www.travmedia.com/immuk).

Humphrys has been a journalist for more than half a century. He was BBC TV's youngest foreign correspondent. He has anchored most frontline news and current affairs programmes on both television and radio, presenting the Today programme on Radio 4 for a record-breaking 32 years before leaving in September 2019.

He has won just about all the national broadcasting awards, including the 'Oscar of Oscars': the Sony Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement. The citation read: “Humphrys has truly changed the face of radio and the nature of the radio interview for an entire generation.”

Humphrys is frequently referred to by newspapers as a “national treasure” - which he loathes because he says it makes him feel “like one of Queen Victoria's commodes”. He was more flattered by a former Foreign Secretary who wrote that the only thing that kept him awake at night was the prospect of being interviewed by John Humphrys in the morning.

Highlights of Awards evening will include the announcements of the coveted Travel Writer of the Year, PR Professional of the Year, and Influencer of the Year. Entries for the Awards are now closed and sponsorship of many of the categories is already secured. The TravMedia Awards are organised by TravMedia and are not linked to any industry grouping or association, and are open to all journalists, influencers and PR professionals.

Said Henry Hemming, TravMedia UK's Managing Director: “We're thrilled to have John Humphrys, arguably this country's most senior and accomplished broadcaster, at the helm on 10 March. We've wanted from the outset to send a clear signal that we wish pure excellence to dominate the outcomes of this awards set, and to show that we're delivering an independent set of awards that the industry's greatest talents will wish to win. From the 550+ entries we received, we believe we're well on the way to making good this promise.”

Entry to the Awards evening will be open to entrants who achieve finalist status in any award category, and to personnel attending IMM as exhibitors. Finalists will be announced on Monday 24 February. Limited tickets may also become available in the run up to the event, depending on capacity.

The evening will also feature an Outstanding Contribution Award based on a popular vote.

All categories are being adjudicated by an expert panel of judges from within the travel industry, including senior trade executives, communications heads and leading media figure and commentators.

IMM is TravMedia's market-leading exhibition-style event connecting the travel industry with journalists and influencers. IMM becomes a two-day event in 2020 for the first time, featuring two days of meetings, professional development sessions and breakout networking events.

The TravMedia Awards are owned and operated by TravMedia UK, the company operating TravMedia.com in the UK and Ireland.  TravMedia is a global social network connecting the travel industry with the media and connects PR professionals from over 3000 tourism and travel brands with over 25,000 journalists and influencers worldwide.

The TravMedia Awards

Media Awards: Rising Star of the Year; Trade Publication of the Year; Trade Writer of the Year; Freelance Writer of the Year; Consumer Magazine Travel Section of the Year; Travel Magazine of the Year; Broadcast Programme of the Year; National Newspaper Travel Section of the Year, and Travel Writer of the Year.

PR Awards: Rising Star of the Year, PR Agency of the Year, In-house PR Team of the Year, PR Stunt of the Year, PR Campaign of the Year, Social Media Campaign of the Year, and PR Professional of the Year.

Influencer Awards: Rising Star of the Year, Vlogger of the Year, Blogger of the Year, and Influencer of the Year.

Special Award: Outstanding Contribution.

IMM 2020 Exhibitors

Accor Asia Pacific, Agence de Développement Touristique des Ardennes, Alpe d'Huez Grand Domaine Ski, Alterra Mountain Company, Amelia Island, Annecy Mountains, Ardèche Tourisme, Arizona Office of Tourism, Atlantic Coast Cognac Country, Atlantic Loire Valley, Atout France, Aurora Expeditions, Austrian National Tourist Office, Auvergne Rhone-Alpes Tourisme, Avignon Tourisme, Banff Sunshine Village, Bavaria Tourism, Biarritz Pays Basque Tourism, Blenheim Palace, Bourgogne-Franche-Comte Tourisme, Bournemouth Christchurch & Poole, Brand USA, Brittany Ferries, Brittany Tourism, CaminoWays.com, Canal & River Trust, Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, Centre des Monuments Nationaux, Château de Chenonceau, Choose Chicago, CityPASS, Cotswolds Tourism, Crans-Montana, Daytona Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Deep South, Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi, Destination Beaujolais, Destination Canada, Destination New South Wales, destination: Tiburon, DFDS, Discover Aboriginal Experiences, Discover The Palm Beaches, Düsseldorf Tourist Board, Efteling, Evaneos, Exodus Travels, Fairmont Hotels Canadian Pacific Northwest Region, Fly Provence, Fomento del Turismo de Mallorca, Food Drink Devon, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Region, G Adventures, Gers Gascony Tourism, Gran Canaria Tourist Board, Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, Grenada Tourism Authority, Haute Garonne Tourism, Hello Lille, Heritage Expeditions, HF Holidays, Homewood, Hong Kong Tourism Board, Iberian Escapes, Inghams, Interrail Pass, IPW / U.S. Travel Association, Isère Attractivité, Italian National Tourist Board, KE Adventure Travel, Lake Charles Louisiana, Lake Saimaa - Purest Finland, Lanzarote Tourism Office, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Les Villages Nature® Paris, Loire Valley, Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board, Luberon Cœur de Provence Tourisme, Lyon Tourism & Conventions, Macao Government Tourism Office, Marketing Manchester, Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism, Montpellier Méditerranée Tourism & Conventions, NAUSICAA the French National Sea Centre, New Orleans & Company, New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau, Normandy Tourism, Northern Territory, Okinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau, Orascom Hotels Management, Orléans Val de Loire Tourisme, Ottawa Tourism, Ovolo Hotels, Pas-de-Calais Tourism, Philadelphia CVB, Pierre & Vacances, Planet Travel Holidays, Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur, Pure Michigan, Puy du Fou, Qantas Airways, Raffles Singapore, Remarkable France, Rocky Mountaineer, Romantic Cities, Royal Commission for AlUla, Saint Lucia Tourism Authority, Salzburg State Board of Tourism / SalzburgerLand Tourismus, San Francisco Travel Association, Sands Resort Macao, Savoie Mont Blanc Tourisme, Setouchi Tourism Authority, Signature Experiences of Australia, Ski & Summer France, Sonoma County Tourism, South Australia Tourism Commission, SouthWest Germany Tourist Board, Switzerland Tourism, TAP Air Portugal, Tarn & Garonne Tourism, Tarn Tourism, Tenerife Tourism Corporation, The AMResorts Collection, The Tourism Authority of Thailand, Toulouse Tourist Office, Tourism and Events Queensland, Tourism Australia, Tourism Nova Scotia, Tourism Toronto, Tourism Western Australia, Tourist Board of Lake Constance, Travel Manitoba, Travel Nevada, Travel Texas, Valais/Wallis Promotion, Vaucluse Provence, Verbier Promotion, VIA Rail Canada, Vienne Condrieu Tourism, Viking Cruises, Visit Austin, Visit Baltimore, Visit County Durham, VISIT DENVER, VISIT FLORIDA, Visit Isles of Scilly, Visit Mesa, Visit North Carolina, Visit Orlando, Visit Portugal, Visit San Antonio, Visit St. Pete/Clearwater, Visit Tampa Bay, Visit Temecula Valley, Visit Tucson, Visit Var, Visit Victoria, Visit Wales, VisitDenmark, VisitEngland, and VisitScotland

Ends

For information on TravMedia Awards and IMM 2020:

Louise Napier

Regional Director, TravMedia

T: +44 (0)20 3440 8915

E: louise.napier@travmedia.com

EDITORS NOTES

The first-ever IMM was held in London in March 2013 and has since expanded to all corners of the earth, with annual events now taking place in countries including the USA, Australia, Germany and France.

The technology used by TravMedia has become an essential tool for journalists and PR professionals in their day-to-day activities, as they connect and share information in their working lives.

TravMedia was originally created by a travel journalist seeking a better way to research and report travel news, and is dedicated to creating thriving online communities of travel journalists and travel PR professionals.

The company currently operates in 11 countries: Australia, Germany, Dubai, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, India, Brazil, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Africa, and has amassed over 50,000 journalist and PR members.

In the UK, TravMedia and Food4Media are part of the family of websites that also includes Homes4Media.com and Property4Media.com, sites that are owned and operated separately by News4Media Ltd.