FTMA 2019 – And the winners are…

This year’s French Travel Media Awards were unveiled last night (26 March) during a glamorous evening at Avenue in St James’s, following a voting selection by a six-strong jury panel. Making up the panel were Ian Murray, Executive Director of the Society of Editors; Ciara MacHugh, Communications Manager at Air France/KLM; Charlotte Wilmots, founder of Charlotte’s Web Public Relations; Rachel Johnston, PR Officer at Atout France and former journalist; and Anne Pedersen, Atout France’s Head of PR. A total of seven awards were given out in categories including City Breaks, Family Breaks, Art & Culture and Wine & Gastronomy.

Download the full press release here.

From the best of France’s biking and boating to winter sports and family adventures, and from Dordogne’s foodie scene to Paris’ craftsmanship, the multi-faceted destinations and lifestyles of France were brought to life by an inspiring variety of articles. A shortlist of between three and five articles per category was selected from a total of 120 entries, before being independently assessed by each of the jury panel members on criteria including topic originality and creativity of expression.

The winners were announced at a celebratory evening in the stylish surroundings of Avenue in St James’s, where guests dined on a delicious fish-based menu. The evening was attended by 56 print and online journalists & editors and supported by seven French partners – Paris Convention & Visitors Bureau, Centre des Monuments Nationaux, Normandy Tourism, Atlantic Loire Valley, Nausicaá, Montpellier-Mediterranée and La Cité du Vin Bordeaux.

And the winners were…

BEST ART & CULTURE FEATURE
Ben Lerwill for ‘Paris: City of Artisans’ in National Geographic Traveller
(Shortlisted: Sarah Siese, Surrey Life; Tristan Rutherford, The Times)

BEST CITY BREAK FEATURE
Marcel Theroux for ‘The Art of the Flâneur’ in Lonely Planet Traveller
(Shortlisted: Anthony Peregrine, The Sunday Times; Connor McGovern, National Geographic Traveller; Jennifer Savin, Cosmopolitan UK)

BEST DESTINATION FEATURE
Carolyn Boyd for ‘Horror, Heartache and Beauty on the Battlefields of Northern France’ in The Times
(Shortlisted: Michaela Trimble, Suitcase; Rhiannon Rees, France Today; Rory Goulding, Lonely Planet Traveller; Timothy O’Grady, Vanity Fair)

BEST FAMILY BREAK FEATURE
Chris Leadbeater for ‘France… but not as you know it’ in The Sunday Telegraph
(Shortlisted: Beverly Watts, SilverTravelAdvisor.com; Sarah Merson, Family Traveller)

BEST OUTDOOR SPORT FEATURE
Lara Dunn for ‘Sun, Spas and Cycling in Vendée’ in FRANCE Magazine
(Shortlisted: Matt Hampton, The Times Travel; Mary Novakovich, The Guardian)

BEST WINE & GASTRONOMY FEATURE
Marina O’Loughlin for ‘French Revelation’ in the Sunday Times Travel Magazine
(Shortlisted: Jennifer Ladonne, Taste of France (A France Today special edition); Jane Knight, The Times; Carolyn Boyd, National Geographic Traveller; Anthony Peregrine, Sunday Times Travel Magazine)

BEST WINTER DESTINATION FEATURE
Sam Haddad for ‘Skiing in Val Cenis’ in Escapism Ski & Snowboard
(Shortlisted: Rob Freeman, Skier and Snowboarder; Mark Nicholls, The Eastern Daily Press)