SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (March 26, 2007) – The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) has joined the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA) and American Express to present the annual Caribbean Tourism Media Awards.  CHA and American Express established the awards program in 2002 with the aim of raising regional awareness about the impact of tourism, by fostering excellence in tourism reporting in the region.  CTO, having launched a worldwide travel writer awards program in 2003, has merged its Caribbean journalist awards into the CHA program to create a larger impact in the region.
 
The program is open to journalists in print, television, radio, and internet outlets in the Caribbean.  To celebrate the 5th anniversary, a fifth award category has been added to recognize a feature article that promotes intra-Caribbean travel.
 
All submissions must have been published or transmitted between April 1, 2006 and April 15, 2007, on issues such as community-based tourism; tourism and the environment; sustainable tourism development; best practices; social, economic, and development issues; travel stories that promote Caribbean destinations and/or hotels.  Submissions must be closely related to tourism to be considered.
 
Entries will be evaluated on their potential to capture the interest of a wide audience using the following criteria as guidelines: originality of the subject; quality of the investigation / research; quality of treatment; creativity in writing and presentation; ability to relate tourism to social, economic, and/or environmental issues; potential impact on the public and policy makers.
 
One winner from each category – print, radio, TV, internet, and intra-Caribbean travel – will receive a commemorative award and US$500.00.  In addition, they will be invited to take part in press trips to CHA’s Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Conference (CHTC), to be held June 17-19, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency Miami, in Florida, and to CTO’s Caribbean Tourism Conference (CTC), scheduled for October 19-24, 2007, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
 
The 2007 Caribbean Tourism Writer of the Year will be selected either from among the five category winners or another individual who has shown an outstanding body of work during the year, and will receive a cash award of US$2,000.00.
 
Entries may be submitted in English, Spanish or French, accompanied by the application form.  If submission is in a language other than English, journalists must provide a translation in English, or sign the waiver for translation on the application form. Written submissions must bear the journalist’s byline. Entries can be sent by email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , by fax to 787-725-9108, or by regular mail to the Caribbean Hotel Association, 2007 Tourism Media Awards, 1000 Ponce de León Avenue, 5th Floor, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00907.
Entries must be received by Monday, April 30, 2007.
 
The application form can be downloaded at: http://www.caribbeanhotels.org/mediaawardform2007.pdf