Travel South USA and Travel Trade Gazette, joint sponsors of the Young Travel Writer of the Year Award, announced the 2002 winner at World Travel Market today. 21-year old Kate Bretherton , currently studying English Language and Literature at Pembroke College, Oxford, was a clear winner with ‘My Malaria Nightmare’, an article published in the Daily Telegraph (July 2002) about the debilitating illness which she contracted during a trip to India which lay dormant for 18 months before manifesting itself.

Her prize is a one week trip of her choice to South Carolina worth approximately £1,250 including return flights on Delta Air Lines and ground transportation, all courtesy of Delta Vacations. With all that South Carolina has to offer, Kate can choose from a wide range of options to suit her interests – from the elegant sophistication of a city like Charleston, to the relaxation provided by miles of wide sandy beaches on the coast line, or more sporty pursuits such as white-water rafting and kayaking to the relatively more leisurely golf some of the hundreds of top designer courses. An article resulting from the winner's trip will be published in a subsequent issue of Travel Trade Gazette.

The winner also receives the Barbara Land Memorial Award, a special commemorative award hand-crafted in the Travel South region. The Young Travel Writer of the Year award was launched in 1997 by Travel South USA and TTG to recognise and honour Barbara Land, a former Travel Trade Gazette news editor. She moved to South Carolina and reported on the American travel industry as Travel Trade Gazette's US correspondent for nine years until her sudden death in November 1996, aged 43. The Barbara Land Memorial Award is presented annually in memory of an outstanding journalist whose professional life was dedicated to reporting on the travel industry. Travel South USA also contributes annually to an educational trust fund established by TTG in aid of Barbara's three young daughters.

Presenting the award were: Alisa Bailey, Chairman of Travel South USA and Commissioner of West Virginia Tourism, Glenn Couvillon, Managing Director Travel South USA and Phil Davies, Editor of Travel Trade Gazette.

Further press information:
Debra Boraston, UK PR Consultant for Travel South USA
Henry Moore Studio, 11a Parkhill Road, London NW3 2YH
T: 020 7483 1950 F: 020 7586 3790 E: debra@henrymoorestudio.co.uk

Cheryl Hargrove, US PR Consultant for Travel South USA
PO Box 20463, St Simon’s Island, GA31522, USA
T: +1 912 638 6078 F: +1 912 …. E: htcgroup@mindspring.com



Notes to editors:

THE SPONSORS
Travel South USA is America's oldest and largest regional promotion organisation representing the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia And West Virginia. The organisation's mission is to increase tourism to and within the Southern United States. Travel South USA has its headquarter offices in Atlanta, Georgia.

Travel Trade Gazette is the leading travel trade publication in the United Kingdom. With a circulation of more than 25,000, the weekly publication provides industry news and destination updates to travel agents, tour operators and other tourism industry sectors.

Previous winners:

2001: Ginny McGrath, freelance journalist who works for Business Traveller magazine.

2000: Rosemary Behan, travel news editor of The Daily Telegraph, for a look behind the scenes of popular Indian package holiday destination and former hippie haven Goa.

1999: Rhiannon Batten, commissioning editor for travel at The Independent for an article about India.

1998: Richard Knight, a freelance journalist who wrote in The Guardian about millennium parties across the world in an article based on his book The Millennium Guide. Also author of The Blues Highway: New Orleans to Chicago.
www.blues-highway.com

1997: Tom Griffiths, who wrote an article in The Times about travelling for students taking a gap year and who has since set up the Gapyear website and magazine. www.gapyear.com