NEW YORK, NY, 1 June, 2015 – The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) will recognize travel journalists for their outstanding coverage of the region at the CTO Travel Media Awards Luncheon at the Wyndham New Yorker Hotel on Thursday 4 June during Caribbean Week New York.

Awards will be presented in 10 categories, including the Best of Show – the top entry among the winning submissions – for work produced in 2014.

The CTO received a record 120 entries– approximately 50 per cent higher than the annual average – for this year’s awards for US and Caribbean travel writers and photographers. A number of travel journalists who had not entered the contest in the past submitted their work, which covered almost every CTO member country.

For the first time since the awards were introduce in 2003, finalists in each category are being announced ahead of the awards presentation, when the winners are revealed.

The following are the categories and the finalists:

Been There, Wrote That – Best Feature Article In A Consumer Magazine

Erwin Duncan – Spoiler Alert – Outside Magazine

Jad Davenport– Proof of Paradise – Islands

Ted Alan Stedman – Dutch Treat: Bonaire blends aquatic delights with Caribbean charm – Alaska Airlines Magazine –

I Couldn’t Have Written Better Myself – Best Feature In A Consumer Newspaper

Jennifer Ceaser – Travel for Two: Couples Retreat – New York Post

Baz Dreisinger – On a Caribbean Rum Trail – New York Times

Brian Irwin – Fishing is good in waters off Belize – Dallas Morning News

Inner Circle King/Queen– Best Feature Article In A Trade Publication

Joe Pike – Sister Act: Selling Island Pairs in the Caribbean – Travel Agent Magazine

Brian Major – History Lessons Live at Martinique’s La Savane des Esclaves – Travel Pulse

Gay Myers – Hotel Upgrades across the Caribbean – Travel Weekly

Virtual Visitor Award – Best Online Feature

Noah Lederman – Paddle boarding the Bahama’s Eleuthera – SUP Magazine

Luisita Lopez Torregrosa – Seeing the Whole of Antigua – New York Times

Victor Dorff – Bonaire: Fantasy Island, For Real – Huffington Post

Golden Mic – Best Broadcast Feature

Better Mornings Atlanta (CBS Atlanta) – Better Cooking segment with the Jamaican sisters, Michelle and Suzanne Rousseau

Ian and Tonya Fitzpatrick – Exploring the history and folklore of St. Vincent – World Footprints

Not Lost in Translation (Best Feature by a US or Caribbean Journalist that appeared in Foreign Media)

Samantha Diaz – Una Francia en el Caribe – El Nueva Dia

Megan McDonough – 5 Adventures to Take in Dominica – The Epoch Times

From Infinity…And Abroad! (Best Feature by a foreign Journalist that appeared in US or Caribbean Media)

Eric Vohr – Dallas Morning News – Explore Volcanic Mountains in Dominica

Eric Vohr – A sailor’s course through the Grenadines – Miami Herald

Eric Vohr – Get up close to the volcanic activity in St. Lucia – Blue Water Sailing

Oh Snap!– Best Photograph accompanying a feature

Michaela Urban – Explore Volcanic Mountains in Dominica – The New York Times

Weekend Pass Tobago – Pigeon Point, Tobago

No Anansi Story! (Best Feature by a Caribbean Journalist)

Peter Swain – Nevisian Fare – MACO

Rodell Cumberbatch – Spicemas Grenada 2014: The Experience – Blu Moon Productions

For more information about Caribbean Week New York visit www.CaribbeanWeek.com, email [email protected], call (212) 635-9530, or connect on Twitter @CaribbeanWeekNY and on www.facebook.com/caribbeanweekny.

Caribbean Week sponsors and supporters include by Academy Engraving, American Express, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, ASM, Association of Travel Marketing Executives, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Caribbean Airlines, Caribbean News Service, Caribbean Open Tour – Martinique; CarnivalInfo.com, Cayman Islands, CitiTech Solutions, Coconut bay Beach Resort & Spa in Saint Lucia, Conde Nast, Curacao, Dominica, Empire State Building, Golden Krust, Grace Foods, Haiti, Jamaica, Laura Davidson Public Relations, Lou Hammond & Associates, Manhattan Beer, Martinique, MarryCaribbean.com, Montserrat, The New York Times, Puerto Rico, Routes, St. Kitts, Saint Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Martin, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, The Atrebor Group, Travel + Leisure, Trinidad & Tobago, TripAdvisor, Unique Vacations/Sandals Inc, United Airlines, US Virgin Islands and Wyndham New Yorker.