There’s a glittering new look to the prize roster of the 19th annual NATJA travel journalism awards competition.
For the first time, entrants will vie for grand prizes from Greenland, Thailand, Mexico, and the Grand Canyon Railway, plus a 4-5 night ocean cruise.
The long list of first prizes, still expanding at press time, includes new donations from London’s five-star Draycott Hotel, two New York properties that belongs to Historic Hotels of America, an all-inclusive Mexican resort, a Victorian bed & breakfast from Cape May, and Doubletree properties in Boston and Key West.
Returning awards donors range from Badrutt’s Palace (Switzerland) to The Phoenician (Scottsdale) but also include the Hotel Monteleone (New Orleans), Hotel Rex (San Francisco), Hadsten House of Solvang, Calif., and the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin.
AirTran again contributed two tickets valid for anywhere it flies, while Doubletree donated a three-night prize good at any Doubletree hotel or guest suites.
Many prizes include extras, such as Southern Utah’s combination of three nights at a plush B&B and two tickets to its Shakespeare Festival.
Arizona’s Inn at Eagle Mountain, in Fountain Hills, offers three nights in a mini-suite while Mexico’s Valentin Imperial features a three-night stay that is all-inclusive.
A pair of historic Manhattan hotels, the Algonquin and the Sherry Netherland, are on the NATJA prize roster for the first time. The Algonquin, known as the one-time home of the legendary “literary roundtable,” is offering a two-night stay valid for anytime in 2011, while the Sherry Netherland’s prize, valued at $2,500, is a two-night stay in a weekend suite that must be used by Aug. 31, 2011.
There are also prizes from The Inn at Squaw Creek, based in California; Kennedy Space Center; and the New Orleans-based World War 2 Museum.
Most first prizes are three-night stays for two people valid during calendar year 2011. Grand prizes contain considerably greater value.
For example, the Grand Baja Quick Adventure is a five-night trip operated by Sea Kayak Adventures. It includes two hotel nights in Laredo, Baja; four days of kayaking and snorkeling; three nights of camping, with sleeping bags, pads, sheets, tents, camp chairs, kayaking instruction, camping gear, library, naturalist guides, and meals while camping all included, as well as taxes. Not included are airfare, meals in town, gratuities, and incidentals.
The Grand Canyon Railway prize is the Canyon Limited Plus package, with first-class train travel for two from Williams, AZ to the South Rim; two nights at Grand Canyon Railway Hotel in Williams; one night at Maswik Lodge in Grand Canyon National Park; a motorcoach tour of the South Rim; and buffet breakfasts and dinners at Grand Depot Café.
Amari Hotels offers two three-night stays at its Thailand properties, while Wonders of Greenland is an eight-night summer trip operated by Tasermuit.
Also on the Grand Prize list is the winner’s choice of a Sixthman cruise for four or five nights in an oceanview cabin.
NATJA is also on the verge of adding valuable products, such as cameras and computers, to the prize roster for first time. Watch the website for official announcements.
Deadline to enter the competition is September 1, giving judges ample time to sift through several hundred entries in more than two-dozen categories. Winners will be notified before the winter holidays and will then pick their top 10 prize preferences by ballot. Ties will be broken by giving preference to NATJA members and/or multiple winners.
The annual competition is open to all travel journalists, authors, and writers worldwide.
Entry forms for the 2010 contest are available at www.natja.org.
NATJA AWARDS PRIZE ROSTER:
GRAND PRIZES: Wonders of Greenland (8 nights), Amari Hotels Thailand (6 nights), Grand Baja Quick Adventure (5 nights), Sixthman Cruises (4-5 nights), and Grand Canyon Railway (3 nights).
FIRST PRIZES: Valentin Imperial (Mexico), Southern Utah Package, The Phoenician, Doubletree Grand Key Resort (Key West), Doubletree Guest Suites Boston, Any Doubletree hotel or suites, Queen Victoria B&B (Cape May), Hadsten House (Solvang, CA); and Badrutt’s Palace, Switzerland, all three nights each; Algonquin Hotel (New York), Sherry Netherland (New York), Draycott Hotel (London), Hotel Rex (San Francisco), NYLO Dallas/Las Colinas, Resort at Squaw Creek (CA), Hotel Monteleone, and Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin, all two nights; plus prize packages to be determined from Kennedy Space Center (FL) and World War 2 Museum (New Orleans); plus two tickets valid for anywhere AirTran flies.
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