WINNERS REVEALED AT ECOVENTURA LATA MEDIA AWARDS
The Latin American Travel Association (LATA) is pleased to reveal the winners of the Ecoventura LATA Media Awards 2016.
Now in its 13th year, the LATA Media Awards recognise innovation and excellence across the British travel media landscape with a specific focus on Latin America.
Celebrating and rewarding inspiring Latin America stories and photography, the winners of the Ecoventura LATA Media Awards 2016 were picked from over 140 entries by an esteemed panel of judges, all of whom have helped bring Latin America a little closer to the UK through their respective work. Judges included Hugh Thomson; award winning author and film maker, Eva Tarr-Kirkhope; founder and director of the Latin American Film Festival in London, Adrian Philips; MD of Bradt Guides, Simon Stafford; photography expert and technical editor of Nikon Owner magazine, and Byron Shirto; chairman of LATA.
The awards were announced at an event which took place on Tuesday 26 April at Peruvian restaurant, Lima Floral in central London in front of an audience made up of some of the UK’s leading travel writers and photographers as well as LATA members.
Winners and runners-up are detailed below:
Consumer Newspaper Feature of the Year Award
Winner: Chris Moss, Is the writing on the wall for Cuba, The Sunday Telegraph
Runner up: Michael Kerr, How green was my valley, The Sunday Telegraph
Consumer Magazine Feature of the Year Award
Winner: Michelle Jana Chan, Born Trippy: Brazil’s most awesome coast, Conde Nast Traveller
Joint runners up: Alex Robinson, Legal highs Rio, The Sunday Times Travel Magazine
Antonia Quirke, Flick the switch: barefoot shores are still as lo-fi as a box of frogs, Conde Nast Traveller
Trade Publication Feature of the Year Award Winner: Katie McGonagle, Wild at Heart, Travel Weekly Runner up: Katherine Lawrey, Wild times in the rainforest, TTG
Online Blog Feature of the Year Award Joint winners: Emma Thomson, Amazon: Swimming with river dolphins, National Geographic Traveller Glen Mutel, The Panama Canal: Crossing a Continent, National Geographic Traveller Runner up: John Malathronas, On the old Patagonian Express, RoundTheWorldFlights
Top Published Photo of the Year Award Joint winners: Graeme Green, Flight of the Condors, Wanderlust Alex Robinson, Big trip Costa Rica, The Sunday Times Travel Magazine Runner up: Renato Granieri, Elephant Seal Laughing, Press Association
Best Self-Published Award Winner: Sorrel Moseley-Williams, Not just a pretty place: Salta’s Calchaquí Valley, Jacada Travel Runner up: Heather Richardson, 15 Reasons you won’t forget a trip to the Galapagos Islands, Jacada Travel
Byron Shirto, chairman of LATA says;
“LATA is absolutely delighted with the quality of this year’s submissions. Latin America has really been brought to life in the UK over the last year with evocative and imaginative writing, colourful and engaging photography, and intricate research”.
This year, the headline sponsor of the awards was sustainable travel expert Ecoventura which operates a fleet of four expedition vessels in the Galapagos Islands. New for 2016 is Ecoventura’s one-of-a-kind eco vessel; the MV Origin, launched in the Galapagos in February 2016.
Santiago Dunn, President of Ecoventura who travelled from Ecuador to join the awards says, “We are proud to be the headline sponsor of the LATA Media Awards 2016. Our expedition vessels offer the chance to enjoy up close and personal encounters with wildlife around the outer islands of the archipelago, based on a seven night itinerary. We look forward to working with the LATA members and the UK travel media going forward.”
The event was also supported by the world’s premier travel and map shop, Stanfords, which has been an essential first port of call for adventure and armchair travellers alike since 1853.
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About LATALATA is the representative body of the Latin American travel industry. For more information, please visit www.lata.org
For further information, please email latapr@wearelotus.co.uk or contact Kate McWilliams or Lucy Keenan at Lotus (02079538788).
About Ecoventura:Sustainable travel expert Ecoventura operates a fleet of four expedition vessels in the Galapagos Islands
For media enquiries, please contact Naomi McKee (naomi@senderos.co.uk)
About StanfordsStanfords has been an essential first port of call for adventure and armchair travellers alike since 1853. Their roll-call of customers past and present includes such famous names as Amy Johnson, David Livingstone, Captain Robert Falcon Scott, Ernest Shackleton, Florence Nightingale, Ranulph Fiennes, Bill Bryson, Michael Palin, and even Sherlock Holmes.
For media enquiries, please contact Dan Lewis (dan.lewis@stanfords.co.uk)