Annual GNTO UK awards recognise excellence in UK Travel Writing London, 28th November 2014 –
Lonely Planet Traveller Magazine’s Oliver Smith picked up 1st prize yesterday at the German National Tourist Office’s (GNTO) annual ‘Germany Travel Writers’ Awards’ 2014, for his article about the ‘Life andTimes’ of King Ludwig II of Bavaria.
2nd prize was awarded to Adrian Tierney Jones for his article ‘Deutsch Courage’ about Munich and the Oktoberfest, published in the Sunday Times Travel Magazine.
Glen Mutel, writing for National Geographic Traveller, won 3rd prize for his feature on a long weekend in Bavaria.
The Germany Travel Writers’ Awards recognises, each year, the outstanding UK editorial coverage given to Travel Destination Germany over the last 12 months.
In addition to the top 3 places, the highly coveted Goethe Bust was awarded to the Daily Telegraph for consistently innovative travel features about Germany.
Rupert Parker, writing for the Huffington Post, won the online category prize – a new award for 2014 – for his feature about UNESCO World Heritage in the Harz Mountains.
An independent judging panel selected the winners from a shortlist of 10, which included entries from Wales on Sunday, Sunday Times Travel Magazine, Easy Jet Traveller and the Daily Telegraph. The judging panel was made up of representatives from the German Embassy, the Goethe Institute, Volkswagen UK and The British Guild of Travel Writers.
More than 50 guests, including journalists, cultural institutions and the judges attended the awards ceremony at Trinity House in London; the awards combine the ceremony with the GNTO’s annual media press lunch, which this year was co-sponsored by the City of Regensburg, in Bavaria. Full of history and charm, Regensburg has 1,500 listed buildings of which 984 make up the UNESCO World Heritage as part of the Old Town with its ‘Stadtamhof ensemble’.
Latest statistics for overnight stays from the UK and N. Ireland to Germany, for the first eight months of 2014, show a rise of more than 3.5% compared to the similar period in 2013. Presenting the awards, Klaus Lohmann, Director of the GNTO for UK and Ireland said: “There has been a lot of attention on Germany in the UK this year, not least with the World Cup but also due to 300th anniversary celebrations of the Georgians, Germany being voted the World’s No. 1 brand in the 2014 Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands Index and exhibitions such as ‘Germany: Memories of a Nation’ at the British Museum – and of course the celebrations around the 25th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. This has all helped to raise awareness of travel destination Deutschland – reflected in the exceptional standards of travel writing you see recognised in these awards”. He added: “in 2015 we will be celebrating Germany’s customs and traditions, a fascinating subject that will offer plenty of inspiration for travel writers, in the year that Germany also celebrates the 25th anniversary of German reunification”.
.
– Ends –
Media Contact:
Victoria Kyme
PR Manager
German National Tourist Office
PO Box 2695
London W1A 3TN
Tel: +44 (0)20 7317 0914
Fax: +44 (0)20 7317 0917
Email: Victoria.kyme@germany.travel
Website: www.germany.travel
Images: www.images-dzt.de