CTO EXPANDS BLACK TIE AWARDS GALA TO HONOUR INCLUENCERS ALONG WITH JOURNALISTS DURING CARIBBEAN WEEK NEW YORKCaribbean Tourism Industry Awards Gala held at Wyndham New Yorker Hotel on 6 June, 2019

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (xx May, 2018) – The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) has announced the finalists for the Caribbean Travel Media Awards, which will be held at the Wyndham New Yorker on 7 June during Caribbean Week NewYork (#CWNY2019). It is the second incarnation of the expanded media awards programme which the CTO has staged for the past two decades to honour travel journalists and other professionals whose exceptional work has raised the profile of the Caribbean brand and helped the region achieve its tourism goals.

New in 2019, the CTO has added the ‘I Have Influence’ award to the contest in recognition of the growing number of influencers who contribute to telling the Caribbean’s story.

A distinguished panel of media and industry judges led by veteran travel journalist Mark Orwoll (pictured right) were enthusiastic about the quality of work represented, indicating that the prestigeous competition attracts a higher calibre of submissions each year.

“The Caribbean has long inspired artists, designers, and vacationers of all sorts with its vibrant culture and laid-back atmosphere. The media entries our committee reviewed make it abundantly clear that the region is also a powerful muse for the journalists, photographers and influencers who motivate travel decisions and contribute to the Caribbean’s status as the world’s leading warm weather destination,” said Orwoll.

A contest in which readers can select the winner for the Oh My Word, I Blogged! Best Caribbean Travel Blog Posting will continue to allow voting through 18 May, 2019.

For the remaining categories, the following finalists have been selected:

I Couldn’t Have Written It Better Myself: Best Feature Article in a U.S.-based Consumer Newspaper

– Kristin Emery: “Paradise Found: Unspoiled and Undeveloped in St. Kitts.” – Observer-Reporter (Southwestern PA)

– Lawrence Millman: “Mayaguana, a World Away and Worth the Trip.” – Boston Globe

– Christopher Muther: “How Martinique’s Rum Became Certifiably the Best in the Caribbean” – Boston Globe

Been There, Wrote That: Best Feature Article in a U.S.-based Consumer Magazine

– Emma Glassman Hughes: “Artists in Barbados Reveal the Beauty of Negative Space” – Here Magazine

– Larry Olmstead: “Catch It If You Can” – Celebrated Living

– Tony Perrotett: “The Martinique Mystique: Why Americans Are Suddenly Flocking to This Gorgeous Caribbean Island?” – Travel + Leisure

Inner Circle King/Queen: Best Feature Article in a U.S.-based Trade Publication

– Gay Nagle Myers: “Romantic Escape at Sandals Royal Barbados” – Travel Weekly

– David Swanson: “Visiting a Sandals Resort as an LGBT Couple” – TravelAge West

– Ed Wetschler: “Jamaica: News for Travel Agents” – Recommend

Oh Snap! Best Photograph in Conjunction with a Feature Article

– Raymesh Cintron: photo accompanying “We Want to Show the Islands as They Have Never Been Sceen Before” – Cacique  

– Brian Finke: photo accompanying Marta Cerdà’s “Razing Cane: To Taste Haiti’s Small Batch Rum is to Cut to the Heart of What Makes the Island Worth Exploring” – AFAR

– Jeff Mayers: photo accompanying Marshelle Haseley’s “Trinidad Carnival…More Than Meets The Eye” – Panache

Golden Mic: Best Feature Broadcast

– Jason Kidd: “Live from Sandals Grenada with Ria Murray” – WRQX Mix 107.3

– Donna Perkins: Episide on Negril, Jamaica – Andiamo Uptown

– Ryan Seacrest: Segment on The Bahamas – Live with Kelly and Ryan

Virtual Visitor Award: Best Feature in an Online Publication (not including blogs)

– Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon: “This All-Inclusive Resort in Jamaica Offers Unlimited Spa Treatments” – Islands.com  

– David Molyneaux: “Barbados Offers Beaches, Cricket Matches, Local Rums and a Glimpse of Jewish History” – MiamiHerald.com  

– Tik Root: “How One Country Is Restoring Its Damaged Ocean” – NationalGeographic.com

I Have Influence: Best Executed Influencer Campaign That Delivered Results Based On Agreed Objectives

– Silvia Lawrence: Guyana

– Francesca Murray: Jamaica Food and Drink

– Enocha Tellus: Pure Grenada

Up the Social Ladder: Best Social Media Marketing Campaign by a CTO Member Country

– Bahamas: #NoFilter infuencer campaign by Bahamas Ministry of Tourism

– Jamaica: #JoinMeInJamaica digital marketing campaign by Jamaica Tourist Board

– Martinique: #MakeItMartinique campaign in conjunction with Uncommon Caribbean

Look, I’ve Gone Social: Most Outstanding Social Media Coverage of an Event or Activity (by a journalist or influencer)

– Chelsea Davis: Barbados Crop Over Festival

– Lebawit Girma: Barbados Food & Rum Festival

– Francesca Murray: Grenada Chocolate Festival

Me Too! I Rediscovered Home! Best Feature by a Diasporan Journalist in U.S. or Caribbean Media

– Kevin Williams: “Rum Making with Appleton Estate’s Master Blender” – Caribbean Life

No Anansi Story! Best Feature by a Caribbean-based Journalist (that appeared in Caribbean-based media)

– Catherine Morris: “Soufriere Models Community Tourism” – St. Lucia Star

– Ricqcolia Phillip: “UberSoca Cruise: The CARICOM of the Soca Experience” – Loop    

– Leisha Wong: “Island Inspired” – Cayman Airways Skies  

CTO assembled a panel of expert media and travel industry judges to review submissions and determine the award-winners, led by head judge Mark Orwoll:

• Mark Orwoll is a veteran travel journalist who was on the staff of Travel + Leisure for 29 years, including stints as managing editor and international editor. As a staff writer, he wrote scores of articles for the print edition, as well as a daily online travel advice column for travelandleisure.com. As an editor, he has worked with such travel writing luminaries as Bill Bryson, Paul Theroux, and Jan Morris. Mark is also well known for his hundreds of broadcast appearances as a travel expert on NBC’s Today, CBS’s Early Show, ABC’s Good Morning, America, and numerous other local, national, and international TV programs. Mark has taught feature writing at Media Bistro, and for many years was an adjunct professor in the NYU master’s in publishing programme. He is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers and the New York Travel Writers Association. As an independent journalist, he has written for Condé Nast Traveler, United Airlines’ Hemispheres, Frommer’s Travel, The Travel Channel, Robb Report, Town & Country, and numerous other print and online publications. In his free time, Mark plays lead guitar in a rock band and tends the fish in his backyard koi pond.
• Tiffany Dowd, Founder and president, Luxe Social Media, advises luxury travel brands on social media marketing and online strategy and was recognised among the “25 Best Luxury Digital Experts To Follow.”
• Tony Fraser is a veteran journalist with over 40 years of experience, a graduate in journalism, history, sociology, politics and economics, and international affairs, and part-time lecturer in journalism at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine campus.
• Pauline Frommer is the Co-president of Frommer Media LLC with her father Arthur Frommer. She is the publisher of both the Frommer Guidebooks and Frommers.com, and the co-host of the Frommer Travel Show on both WABC and Radio America.
• Terry Gallagher is president of  Lou Hammond Group, New York, a destination marketing leader with over 30 years’ experience planning and implementing strategic campaigns in the travel industry that have resulted in award-winning placements.
• Fran Golden is is an award-winning travel writer. She is a frequent contributor to Bloomberg Pursuits, Virtuoso Life and Condé  Nast Traveler, among other publications, and co-author of several cruise travel books including Frommer’s EasyGuide to Alaskan Cruises and Ports of Call and Frommer’s EasyGuide to River Cruising.
• Mark Edward Harris is the award-winning photographer behind books such as “The Way of the Japanese Bath” and “Inside North Korea” as well as a travel/documentary photojournalist whose work appeared in Vanity Fair, Condé Nast Traveler, National Geographic Traveler, Islands, Marie Claire and The New York Times.
• Josh Kahn is a well-respected tourism industry consultant and public relations specialist at award-winning boutique agency KTCpr as well as immediate past chairman for the prestigious New York Chapter of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).
• Norie Quintos is an award-winning journalist and editor at large for National Geographic Travel Media. She also helps destinations and travel companies find and tell their stories as a consultant on communications strategy, media relations, custom content and messaging.
• James Shillinglaw, founder and editor-in-chief of Insider Travel Report, has been covering the travel industry for nearly 30 years for a number of trade publications. His new online newsletter delivers an insider perspective on the travel industry. He’s also a highly sought after industry speaker and panel moderator.

Winners will be announced at the Caribbean Tourism Industry Awards Gala during Caribbean Week NewYork, an elegant awards ceremony and dinner on Thursday, 6 June, 2019.

Tickets are available for $300 per person or $2,750 for a table seating 10 persons.

About Caribbean Week New York:

Caribbean Week New York is the largest regional tourism activity in the New York area. Artistes, performers, celebrity chefs, the Diaspora, investors and other strategic partners join government officials and the media for a week of festivities designed to raise awareness of the Caribbean’s diverse tourism industry and provide opportunities for member destinations to promote their individual products and services, participate in meetings, seminars and other business development activities to further enhance the Caribbean brand, and provide updates and critical support to travel agents and the media who influence key travel demographics. 

Caribbean Week is supported by: Academy Engraving, American Express, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bedessee Sports, The British Virgin Islands, Bloomingdale’s, Blue Waters, Calabash Cove Resort & Spa, Cayman Islands, Cititech Solutions, Coyaba Beach Resort, Cool Tech Air Conditioning and Refrigeration LLC, Delta Airlines, Dominica, Doctor’s Cave, Four Season Resort Nevis, Grenada, Jamaica, James Beard Foundation, JetBlue, Lightspeed Reservation system, Martinique, Ocean Terrace Inn, Round Hill Hotel and Villas, Sandals, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Saint Lucia, The Wyndham New Yorker Hotel, Travel+Leisure, Williams-Sonoma.

To participate in, or sponsor any Caribbean Week New York event, visit www.caribbeanweek.com; email [email protected] or call +1212-636-9350. 

CTO members receive special concessions when they participate in Caribbean Week New York. To find out more about membership visit http://bit.ly/alliedmembers or email [email protected]. 

About the Caribbean Tourism Organization

The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), with headquarters in Barbados, offices in New York and London and representation in Canada, is the Caribbean’s tourism development agency comprising membership of the region’s finest countries and territories including Dutch, English, French and Spanish-speaking, as well as a myriad of private sector allied members. The CTO’s vision is to position the Caribbean as the most desirable, year-round, warm weather destination, and its purpose is Leading Sustainable Tourism – One Sea, One Voice, One Caribbean.

Among the benefits to its members the organization provides specialized support and technical assistance in sustainable tourism development, marketing, communications, advocacy, human resource development, event planning & execution and research & information technology.

The CTO’s Headquarters is located at Baobab Tower, Warrens, St. Michael, Barbados BB 22026; Tel: (246) 427-5242; Fax: (246) 429-3065; E-mail: [email protected];

The CTO’s New York office is located at 80 Broad St., Suite 3302, New York, NY 10004, USA: Tel: (212) 635-9530; E-mail: [email protected];

The CTO’s London office is located at Suites 52A & 53, 5th Floor AMP House, Dingwall Road, Croydon CR0 2LX, England. Tel: 011 44 208 948 0057; Fax: 011 44 208 948 0067; E-mail: [email protected].

CTO has representation in Canada; Tel: (905) 857-1986; Email: [email protected].

For more information on the Caribbean Tourism Organization, please visit www.OneCaribbean.org and follow CTO on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn to be part of the conversation.