International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association

April 6, 2011 - PRLog -- Contact:
Linda Kissam & Leigh Cort– Board of Directors/Publicity Chairs
International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA)
admin@ifwtwa.org


International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association
Promotes Industry Achievement Through Awards Program

International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Assoc. (IFWTWA) has developed and launched a program in which travel and tourism professionals worldwide are awarded an IFWTWA Excellence Award for outstanding achievements in their fields.

April 6, 2011, Diamond Bar, CA – The International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA) Board of Directors is happy to announce the recent launch of the organization's new Excellence Awards program. This program is designed to recognize outstanding achievement in all aspects of the travel, tourism, hospitality, culinary, beverage and destination marketing industries. This is an ongoing awards program.  Winners will be announced quarterly.

“One of the most rewarding aspects of being a food, wine and travel writer is recognizing and spreading the word about exceptional talent in the travel and tourism industry,” says Allen Cox, IFWTWA board member and chair of the Excellence Awards program. “Excellence, in this sense, is not necessarily synonymous with luxury, but with outstanding cultural, experiential and environmental education and stewardship.”

IFWTWA Excellence Awards fall into the following categories:
•Culinary Excellence Award – recognizes chefs and other outstanding culinary professionals
•Wine/Brew/Other Beverage Excellence Award – recognizes winemakers, brew masters, and others who stand out in the beverage industry
•Hospitality Excellence Award – recognizes exceptional and innovative lodging establishments
•Tourism Excellence Award – recognizes the best tour guides and companies
•Destination Marketing Excellence Award – recognizes the best convention and visitor bureaus, tourism offices, and public relations professionals

In addition, IFWTWA has launched an award program focused on excellence in travel, food and wine journalism: the Journalism Excellence Award (geared for professional journalists) and the Emerging Writer Excellence Award. These annual awards replace IFWTWA's annual Wine, Food and Travel Writer Scholarship Contest. The winners of both awards earn a complimentary one-year membership in IFWTWA, publication in Global Writes (IFWTWA's on-line magazine) and more. In addition, the Journalism Excellence Award recipient wins complimentary attendance at IFWTWA's annual conference; the Emerging Writer Award recipient wins a cash prize.

The IFWTWA Board of Directors is proud to announce the following winners.

Award of Excellence in Destination Marketing
Maja Gartmann
Switzerland Tourism
501 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 607
Santa Monica, CA 98401

Sherrye Wyatt
Island County Tourism
P.O. Box 365
Coupeville, WA 98239

Robin Jacobson
San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau
P.O. Box 1330
Friday Harbor, WA 98250

Pamela Wamback
Nova Scotia Tourism, Culture & Heritage
P.O. Box 456
Halifax, N.S., Canada B3J 2R5

Tanya Richardson
Avon Events & Marketing
113 Newcastle St
York, 6302 Western Australia

Maynely Marketing
392A Cousins Street
Yarmouth, ME 04096

Culinary Excellence Award
Chef Brendon Vallejo
Samudra Kombi Cafe
226 Naturaliste Tce
Dunsborough, 6281 Western Australia

Martin Yan
Yan Can Cook, Inc.
P.O. Box 4755
Foster City, CA 94404

Award of Excellence in Hospitality  

Capt. Andy Hill
Private Islands of Georgia/Eagle Island
202 Marina Drive
St. Simons Island, GA 31522

The Edgewater Hotel
2411 Alaska Way, Pier 67
Seattle, WA 98121

The Mission Inn
3649 Mission Inn Ave
Riverside, CA 92501

Deetjens Big Sur Inn
48865 Highway 1
Big Sur, CA 93920

Historic Inns of Rockland
392A Cousins Street
Yarmouth, ME 04096

Berry Manor Inn
81 Talbot Avenue
Rockland, Maine 04841

Captain Lindsey House
5 Lindsey Street
Rockland, Maine 04841

Granite Inn
546 Main Street
Rockland, ME 04841-3341

LimeRock Inn
96 LimeRock Street
Rockland, Maine 04841

Çırağan Palace Kempinski Hotel
Attn: Selim Ozcan
Ciragan Caddesi No. 32
Besiktas 34349 Istanbul, Turkey

The Villa Marco Polo
1524 Shasta Place
Victoria, B.C., Canada V8S 3P6

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About IFWTWA: The International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA) is a global network of journalists who cover the hospitality and lifestyle fields, and the people who promote them. In 1956 a group of prominent Frenchmen started rating restaurants. This small group, along with an American, conceptualized an international version of their organization. It became the International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association when formally created as a non-profit organization in California in 1981.