The Latin American Travel Association (LATA) is delighted to announce the expert judging panel for the 2020 LATA Media Awards, which will take place on 19 May at the RSA House, London.
The LATA Media Awards recognise innovation and excellence across the British travel media landscape with a specific focus on Latin America. Every year, LATA holds an awards ceremony to celebrate and reward inspiring and creative Latin America features, photography and for the first time this year, other forms of media content such as vlogs and podcasts. LATA has introduced two brand new categories (Blog, Vlog or Podcast of the Year and Social Media Campaign of the Year) that aim to recognise other forms of media, aside from traditional media, that contribute in shaping the image of Latin America.
The LATA Media Awards return in 2020 with a strong judging panel composed of key figures including:
Colin Stewart, Chairman of LATA and the UK and Ireland director at Air Europa, one of Latin America’s largest airline providers. Colin has been an active member of LATA for over ten years and is a key ambassador of travel to Latin America.
Dan Linstead, Editorial Director at leading publishing house, Immediate Media. Dan’s expertise lies in his creative and strategic approach to editorial content, overseeing a wide range of titles. Previous to that, Dan was the Editor at Wanderlust Magazine. Dan’s 20 years of editorial experience will be invaluable in selecting the best travel pieces across the range of categories in this year’s awards.
Richard Hammond, Executive Producer at Greentraveller Productions. Richard launched Greentraveller Productions to educate conscientious travellers on sustainable options worldwide providing them with Greentraveller Guides and film-features focused on sustainable tourism. Richard is also a journalist specialising in sustainable travel. With sustainability at the core of LATA’s operations, Richard is a welcome addition to this year’s judging panel.
Martin Williams, CEO of M & Gaucho Restaurants. Martin is part of the team responsible for reviving Gaucho’s position as having the most cutting edge and respected Argentine cuisine and wine range in the market. He continues his project to revamp M & Gaucho Restaurants putting sustainability, Argentine producers and Latin culture at the fore. Martin has deep knowledge of the region and its foodie scene as well as a creative flair, offering a unique perspective to the panel.
Mark O’Donoghue, COO of Travel Counsellors. Travel Counsellors is a highly innovative and success digital platform that supports and empowers entrepreneurial travel agents to provide outstanding booking and travel experiences for their customers. With over 20 years’ experience leading digital platform businesses, Mark will provide invaluable expertise on the impact of media on the travel trade.
Amaranta Wright, Founder and Managing Director of LatinoLife Media and Events. Argentine-born Amaranta, has not only founded LatinoLife print and online magazine, but also La Clave Fest – London’s largest free Latin festival and The LUKAS – Europe’s Latin Entertainment Awards. Amaranta has been a Latin America correspondent for The Sunday Telegraph and The Scotsman and is also author of the critically acclaimed book Ripped and Torn. LATA is delighted to be able to count on the Latin cultural context that Amaranta brings to the LATA Media Awards judging panel.
For this year’s awards, LATA is delighted to announce that Belize will be the headline sponsor. Karen Bevans, Director of Tourism, Belize Tourism Board commented:
“The Belize Tourism Board is delighted to sponsor the 2020 LATA Media Awards as it recognises the significant role that the UK media have played in its successful growth as a ‘must visit’ destination. Over the years, Belize has benefited from numerous stories told across print and digital, and we are honoured to have worked with the media on this truly inspiring travel content. We hugely value our relationship with LATA and are pleased to be part of their efforts in recognising the great work of writers, content creators, broadcasters and photographers.”
The LATA Media Awards include the following categories:
• Consumer National Newspaper Feature of the Year Award (print)
• Consumer Magazine Feature of the Year Award (print)
• Online Consumer Feature of the Year Award (national magazine or newspaper)
• Best Regional Feature of the Year Awards (print a/o online)
• Best Latin American Round-up
• Trade Publication Feature of the Year Award (print or online)
• Blog, Vlog or Podcast of the Year Award
• Best Self- Published Award (i.e. Company Blog/Website)
• Top published Latin America photo
• Social media campaign of the year
The submission form needs to be completed and provided with each individual submission (one per entry).
All submissions need to be published / executed between 1 January and 31 December 2019 in the UK.
All submissions must be sent to latapr@wearelotus.co.uk clearly marked ‘LATA MEDIA AWARDS SUBMISSION’ and must be received before 6pm on Friday 20 March 2020.