Media Awards
Visit USA UK Media Awards 2023 - WINNERS ANNOUNCED!
Check out our video of the day courtesy of Steve Dunlop HERE
6 July 2023
VISIT USA MEDIA AWARDS HONOUR TRAVEL WRITERS FOR CHAMPIONING TRAVEL TO THE USA POST PANDEMIC
The Visit USA Association UK was delighted to welcome media back to its first in-person Media Awards since the pandemic. The awards ceremony was held at Hyatt Andaz Hotel in London on Wednesday 5 July 2023 and recognized outstanding contribution to USA media coverage since the skies opened and travel to the USA resumed.
The Association gratefully acknowledges its member sponsors for this year’s awards:
Visit San Antonio – Headline Sponsor
Daytona Beach Area CVB – Awards Sponsor
Visit Central Florida – Awards Sponsor
New Jersey – Awards Sponsor
The full list of the 15 Winners and Highly Commended media, who this year received eco-friendly wooden trophies, are listed below:
Consumer Magazine Feature
Lynn Houghton - Winner
BBC Wildlife Magazine
American Dream
Consumer Travel Publication Feature
Jacqui Agate - Winner
Wanderlust
Deep South The Write Way
Tom Burson – Highly Commended
Nat Geo Traveller Food
On the Trail of True’Cue
Trade Publication Feature
Lauren Jarvis - Winner
Selling Travel
Reborn in the USA
Qin Xie – Highly Commended
Travel Weekly
USA: On the Bourbon Whiskey trail in Kentucky
Regional Feature
Abi Jackson - Winner
PA Media
A Special City Full of Surprises
Hannah Stephenson – Highly Commended
PA Media
Pacific Coast Highway
Broadcast including Podcasts
Aaron Millar - Winner
Armchair Productions
Hidden Trails of Oregon, A Travel Podcast
Photographic Travel Feature
Simon Urwin - Winner
JRNY
Southern Comforts
Online/Digital Feature
Megan Eaves - Winner
The Independent
All Aboard the Pacific Surfliner: a car free journey across America
Alicia Miller – Highly Commended
The Times
25 Reasons to Visit New York right now
National Newspaper Feature
Luke Jones - Winner
Sunday Times
Cape Expectations
Zoey Goto – Highly Commended
The Telegraph
Why I Took My Children On An Educational Road Trip Across America
Jonathan Dean – Highly Commended
The Sunday Times
Thrill & Chill
Social Media
Helen Wright - Winner
Passport Stamps
Passport Stamps & Visit Florida Social Media Campaign
With travel firmly back on the map this year the association also wanted to acknowledge three writers who have made an outstanding contribution to USA features with special awards:
Simon Calder - The Independent – received the award for “Championing travel to the USA post pandemic”. He was the first British tourist to cross the Canada-US border in November 2021 when the USA opened its borders.
Zoey Goto and Jacqui Agate both received the “Outstanding Contribution to USA Features” award in recognition of the depth, diversity and substantial commitment and dedication to promoting travel to the USA in the last year.
Special thanks to this years sponsors:
Thanks to all those who entered.
Here are our finalists:
Trade Publication Press:
Stuart Forster - Travel Weekly - Elvis Tours in Memphis are Booming: Here’s How to Visit Graceland and Other Music Spots in the City
Zoey Goto - Travel Weekly - Black History Trips are Booming: We Take a Look at Alabama's Civil Rights Trail
Tamara Hinson - Travel Weekly - How to Explore Boston's Food Scene on Any Budget
Lauren Jarvis - Selling Travel - Reborn in the USA
Qin Xie - Travel Weekly - USA: On the Bourbon Whiskey Trail in Kentucky
Social Media:
Abigail King - Inside the Travel Lab and associated channels - What You Really Need to Know About Civil Rights in Alabama
Roshni Patel - The Wanderlust Within - Florida's Best Kept Secret?
Tara Povey - whereistara.com - East Tennessee
The Marsh Family - Marsh Family YouTube - Experience Kissimmee Thanks to the UK's Marsh Family
Helen Wright - Passport Stamps – Passport Stamps and Visit Florida Social Media Campaign
Photographic Feature:
Kav Dadfar - JRNY Travel Magazine - Way Out West
Susan Schwartz (Words) and Simon Urwin (Photos) – Tonic - Badass Bourbon: The Moxie of Maker's Mark
Simon Urwin - JRNY Travel Magazine - Southern Comforts
Consumer Travel Publication:
Jacqui Agate – Wanderlust - Deep South the Write Way
Tim Burson - National Geographic Traveller - On the Trail of True Cue
Gareth Clark – Wanderlust - The Pacific Northwest, in Living Colour
David J Farley - National Geographic Traveller - A Guide to Culinary Culture in Washington, DC
Zoey Goto - National Geographic Traveller - Deep Roots in the Smoky Mountains
Lynn Houghton - Wanderlust - Back to Where it All Began
Lynn Houghton - Wanderlust - Moon Rise Over the Mississippi
Lyn Hughes - Wanderlust - The Florida Keys of My Imagination
Neil Murray - Essentially America Magazine - The 10 Waterfront Titans of the Great Lakes Region
Simon Urwin - JRNY - Southern Comforts
Consumer Magazine:
Lynn Houghton - BBC Wildlife Magazine - American Dream
Lynn Houghton - Out There Magazine - Trail of Tears
Sarah Siese - House & Garden - Peak Practice
Paul Wade - Tonic - Moonshine and Motorsport: A North Carolina Tradition
Broadcast including Podcasts:
Jacqui Agate - Wanderlust: Off the Page - Podcast: Deep South USA
Simon Calder - Independent.co.uk - From Alligators to Astronauts: Go One Step Beyond Orlando
Lynn Houghton - Wanderlust - Adventure on the Mississippi
Aaron Millar - Archer Productions - Hidden Trails of Oregon, A Travel Podcast
Regional Press:
Abi Jackson - PA Media - A Special City Full of Surprises
Andrea McVeigh - Northern Ireland Travel News - A Part of Ulster in Pittsburgh
Hannah Stephenson - PA Media - Pacific Coast Highway
Online Digital Feature:
James Draven - LoveExploring.com - In Search of the Real Elvis - On a Road Trip Around the Deep South
Megan Eaves - The Independent - All Aboard the Pacific Surfliner: A Car Free Journey Across America
Richard Franks - The Telegraph - The Hip US City You'd Never Thought to Visit
Zoey Goto - BBC Travel - The Last Known Ship of the US Slave Trade
Lauren Jarvis - LoveExploring.com - How to Spend 48 Hours in Miami, Florida
Alicia Miller - The Times - 25 Reasons to Visit New York Right Now
David Williams - London Evening Standard - Florida Keys: The Eco Way to do a Great American Road Trip
National Newspaper Feature:
Jacqui Agate - The Times - On Location in Louisiana
Zoe Chamberlain - Daily Mirror, Daily Express, The People, The Irish Mirror, The Irish People and The Daily Record - Hitting the Trunk Road, The Diamond Geysers, The Really Wild Show... (USA Roadtrip)
Jonathan Dean - The Sunday Times - Thrill & Chill
Zoey Goto - The Telegraph - Why I Took My Children on an Educational Road Trip Across America
Luke Jones - The Sunday Times - Cape Expectations
Thanks to our Judges:
Kirsty Dillury (PR Committee Chair)
Phil Bloomfield
Margaret Henriksson
Barry Johnston
James Killick
Surinder Manku
Hannah Mulvey
Matthew Skeels
Jo White