British Guild of Travel Writers
The British Guild of Travel Writers Limited (BGTW) is a group of accredited writers, photographers and broadcasters. It is a trusted source of independent travel commentary and expert travel content. It began in 1960 and is run by a board of directors. As of 2025, the Chair is Chris Coe and the Vice Chair is Daniel James Clarke.
Ten people who signed the Memorandum of Association first automatically became members of the new private company. Other people can join later if they meet the membership rules.
The old voluntary association let retired or inactive members stay connected as Associate Members. Associate Members are not counted as members of the new company under the Companies Act 2006.
Members’ work appears daily in UK media and online, and to a lesser extent in non-UK media. They report on travel around the world. Many are known for guidebooks or narrative travel writing; others lecture or comment on travel history, transport and tourism.
Members write about destinations, journeys and travel issues. Topics include public transport, air travel, overland travel, ecotourism, slow travel, travel technology, consumer protection in travel, medical tourism, travel medicine, and the future of travel writing.
As travel writing moves away from print, fewer members describe themselves as journalists, but many still contribute to mainstream media. Some travel books by current members have won awards such as the Dolman Best Travel Book Award and the Wales Book of the Year.
The Guild welcomes applications from people who write well, take good photos, or work in other travel media genres.
Until 2015, the voluntary association held an annual conference for members only. Since 2016, AGMs are run under the Companies Act rules, with proxy voting available. The first AGM under the new rules was in Tenerife in 2016. Other AGMs have taken place in 2019 (Charlestown, SC) and 2022 (Canary Islands).
The association’s Yearbook used to come out every March; the last yearbook appeared in May 2015 (2015-2016). It is not clear if the new company will publish a yearbook.
Each year the association ran Tourism Awards to recognise innovative and excellent tourism projects that are environmentally and socially responsible. The awards were announced at a London dinner on the eve of the World Travel Market. The new company has not yet announced sponsorship for the 2015 dinner and beyond.
Awards also recognised Guild members in categories for travel writing, photography, radio and television. The main award is Travel Writer of the Year, judged from about six published articles by an independent panel. A Lifetime Achievement Award was given to outstanding contributors; notable past recipients include Hilary Bradt, Eric Newby and Patrick Leigh Fermor. The Lifetime Achievement Award was last given in 2011.
The Guild also ran an annual travel writing competition for many years, which was stopped in early 2014.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 08:30 (CET).