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Scubaverse Team honoured in 2019 Caribbean Travel Media Awards
Amidst the sounds and colours of a Barbados Tuk Band, courtesy of headline sponsor, Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc., the big winners of the 2019 Caribbean Travel Media Awards were revealed last week at an exclusive networking evening held at the Crowne Plaza London Docklands.
Shortlisted by a panel of 14 judges representing the industry, the winners across eight categories were each awarded a prestigious trophy with Certificates for runners-up, in the presence of visiting Caribbean ministers and UK Chapter members, including individual sponsors of the awards.
Caroline Robertson-Brown, Deputy Editor of Scubaverse Media, narrowly missed out on the top spot in the Best Consumer Feature award for ‘Treasure Island Barbados’ which appeared in the WINTER 2019 issue of Dive Travel Adventures magazine – go to page 72 HERE to read!
The first place in the Best Consumer Feature award went to Ronan O’Shea for his feature ‘Antigua Beyond the Beaches’ for Escapism Magazine. In third place was Nick Redman, Sunday Times Travel Magazine, for ‘Beq in Time.’ The Best Consumer Feature award was sponsored by the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism.
Here is the full list of the 2019 Caribbean Travel Media Awards winners, runners-up (2nd and 3rd place respectively) and sponsors:
Best Travel Trade Feature
- MARTIN STEADY for ‘A Journey to Belize’, Selling Travel
- In 2nd place: Andrew Doherty, TTG with ‘Jamaica Beyond The Beaches’
- In 3rd place: Kathryn Liston, Selling Travel, with ‘My Journey – St. Vincent & the Grenadines’
Sponsor: Discover Dominica Authority
Best National Newspaper Feature
- JULIET RIX for ‘Rediscovering Dominica two years after the Hurricane’, The Telegraph and Telegraph.co.uk
- In 2nd place: Ian Belcher, The Times for ‘How Grenada turned up the heat’
- TIED with James Henderson, The Telegraph for ‘Go Organic, local… and Jamaican’
- In 3rd place: Fiona Hyde, Irish Times, for ‘Holidaying solo on the honeymooner’s island of Saint Lucia’
Sponsor: St. Kitts Tourism Authority
Best Regional Newspaper Feature
- HANNAH STEPHENSON, ‘Spice of Life Grenada’, PA Media
- In 2nd: Priya Joshi, PA Media for ‘In Jamaica, The Jamaican Way’
- In 3rd place: Jane Harris, Waterfront Magazine with ‘Happy Landings Saint Lucia’
Sponsor: Saint Lucia Tourism Authority
Best Consumer Feature
- RONAN O’SHEA for ‘Antigua Beyond the Beaches’ Escapism
- In 2nd place: Caroline Robertson-Brown, Scubaverse, for ‘Treasure Island Barbados’
- In 3rd place: Nick Redman, Sunday Times Travel Magazine, for ‘Beq in Time’
Sponsor: Cayman Islands Department of Tourism
Best Broadcast (TV & Radio) Feature
- AINSLEY HARRIOTT for Ainsley’s Caribbean Kitchen – Antigua, ITV
- In 2nd place: Greg McKenzie, BBC Travel Show for ‘Swapping dance moves for hard hats in Saint Martin’
- In 3rd place: Ainsley Harriott, Ainsley’s Caribbean Kitchen – Dominica, ITV
Sponsor: Bahamas Tourist Office
Best Online and/or Blog Feature
- MACCA SHERIFI for ‘What to do in Dominica-My Travel Guide’, An Adventurous World
- In 2nd place: Ursula Barzey, Caribbean & Co for ‘10 Islands To Visit in St Vincent & The Grenadines’
- TIED WITH
- Laura French, Lonely Planet, for ‘Wildlife, beaches and rum: Embracing Guadeloupe’s rustic charm’
- In 3rd place: Heather Cowper, Heather on her Travels for ‘Kaaboo Cayman Review’
- TIED WITH Ella Alexander, Harper’s Bazaar (Online) for ‘Beyond the beaches, a cultural guide to Jamaica’
Sponsor: Tobago Tourism Agency
Best Social Media Campaign
- #WhatCoolLooksLike campaign for TRAVERSE ANTIGUA CONFERENCE 2019
- In 2nd place: Charlie and Jess Wild for Kuoni & the Travel Project ‘Secret Antigua’
- In 3rd place: Ursula Barzey, Caribbean & Co for ‘Celebrating Creole Day& Other Things To Do In Saint Lucia’
Sponsor: Cayman Islands Department of Tourism
Best Caribbean Round Up
- AUDREY GILLAN & NICOLA TRUP for ‘A Caribbean Cook Up’, National Geographic Traveller
- In 2nd place: Lucy Thackray, Mandarin Oriental Magazine for ‘Six luxury trips from Canouan’
- In 3rd place: Jo Cooke, Travel Weekly for ‘Eight of the best Caribbean Cities’
Sponsor: Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc.
Carol Hay, the CTO’s director of marketing for UK and Europe, said: “Congratulations to all the finalists and winners in the 2019 awards; the Caribbean Travel Media Awards have successively drawn a high standard of entries in all categories, each entry playing their part in raising awareness of the Caribbean as a region, and this year has been no exception.
“I would like to personally thank all the entrants who took time to submit their entries and express my gratitude to our headline sponsor, Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc, our individual award sponsors who very generously provided the prizes and the Judges for taking time out to review the entries.”
Find out more about the work of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) at www.onecaribbean.org.
For a week at the end of February I was invited to sample the diving with Orca Dive Club based at the Breakers Diving and Surfing Lodge by courtesy of SOMABAY.
Somabay covers an entire peninsula and is home to several resorts as well as residential compounds. Somabay caters for scuba diving as well as many other sports, including windsurfing, golf, sailing, go-carting, horse riding and many other activities.
All the activities are of a world-class standard and any or all of these can be booked directly from The Breakers.
I took Easyjet from Bristol (UK) to Hurghada. Easyjet are not by any means my favourite airline but the flight was cheap and direct (except for the surprise extra £48 I was charged at the gate for my carry-on bag).
I was met at Hurghada airport by a driver and car and taken to the Breakers 28 miles (45Kilomaters) south along the coast. Once at the hotel I was too late for an evening meal and so a basic meal was delivered to my room. That and a beer from the fridge and I was fast asleep.
Early the next morning after breakfast I arrived for my rep meeting at the Orca Dive Center for 8.00am. I was immediately made to feel welcome, and after brief introductions I got some dive gear from the store, had a chat with my dive guide Mohamed and got ready to try the house reef situated at the end of a very long wooded pier where all diving gear and divers are taken out by buggies.
Once at the end of the pier, a helping hand from staff makes sure your gear is set and then it’s a short walk to the very end where you can either climb down a ladder of simply jump in the water next to the reef. The house reef extends both north and south giving a very easy and safe dive with plenty to see. At this time of the year the water temperature was a constant 22 degrees Centigrade and there was little or no current, so there were no issues in swimming back to the pier.
Quite a few divers were in dry or semi-dry suits, but being from the UK and used to the cold I found a 3mm wetsuit with a 3mm neoprene vest quite comfortable. Even after 50 years of diving I still find that first dive of a trip slightly nerving until I am actually underwater and then all becomes relaxed and I ease into auto diving mode. There was plenty to see with many of the Red Sea favourites along the way.
After the dive and a buggy ride back to the hotel for a very good buffet lunch I was back in the water, once again on the house reef for an afternoon dive.
Check in for part 2 tomorrow when Jeff gets on a day boat and dives a few of the off-shore reefs.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
In an interview recorded exclusively for Scubaverse.com, Jeff Goodman interviews Jeremy Higson from Sea to Sky about the itineraries the tour operator offers in Oman.
For more information about diving in Oman, contact Sea to Sky now:
Email: hello@mysetaosky.co.uk
WhatsApp: + 39 379 236 7138
Website: www.myseatosky.co.uk
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