Winners announced for Inspire Global Media Awards 2026

Inspire Global is delighted to announce the WINNERS AND HIGHLY COMMENDED for the 4th annual Inspire Global Media Awards 2026. The winners were announced at an exclusive event in London on Monday 13th April 2026.

Die IGMAs würdigen herausragende Leistungen in der gesamten Reisemedienlandschaft und würdigen Einzelpersonen und Organisationen, die Geschichten über nachhaltigen Tourismus mit positiven Auswirkungen zum Leben erwecken.

POSITIVE IMPACT OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION

RECOGNITION – Graham Boynton

POSITIVE IMPACT STORYTELLER OF THE YEAR

WINNER – Daniel James Clarke

HIGHLY COMMENDED – Steph Dyson

POSITIVE IMPACT STORY PRODUCER OF THE YEAR

CONSUMER FEATURE OF THE YEAR – UK & IRELAND BASED WRITERS

ENGLAND

WINNER – John Harris für Wild camping the easy way: how a secret Exmoor trip pleased everyone – including the farmer published in The Guardian

HIGHLY COMMENDED – Yvette Cook für The sleeper train holiday to Cornwall that doesn’t cost the Earth published in Der Unabhängige

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BRITISH ISLES (exc. ENGLAND) & IRELAND

WINNER – Lily Canter für Is this off-grid Scottish community the ultimate model for sustainable living in Britain today? published in Adventure.com

HIGHLY COMMENDED – Robin McKelvie für I’ve visited more than 100 countries – but nothing compares to this Scottish island published in Der Telegraph

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NORDIC REGION

WINNER – Sam Haddad für Deserted islands, seagrass meadows and endless ocean: kayaking in Sweden’s new marine national park published in The Guardian

HIGHLY COMMENDED – Ailsa Sheldon für Eating the Archipelago published in JRNY Reisemagazin

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EUROPE – WEST/CENTRAL/EAST

WINNER – Yvette Cook für How women are reviving traditional Seto culture in Estonia published in Der Unabhängige

HIGHLY COMMENDED – Emma Truscott für The European bike trail that hits three countries in a day published in BBC Travel

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MEDITERRANEAN & NORTH AFRICA

WINNER – Daniel Stables für From kasbahs to couscous—how Sicily has celebrated its diversity through the centuries published in National Geographic Traveler (Großbritannien)

HIGHLY COMMENDED – Jessica Heather für Far from the crowds: A guide to Portugal’s lesser-known Côa Valley published in Adventure.com

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AFRICA & INDIAN OCEAN

WINNER – Bella Falk für Making a Splash published in Travel Africa Magazine

HIGHLY COMMENDED – Sue Watt für Kavango-Zambezi – Foundations published in Travel Africa Magazine

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ASIA

WINNER – Farida Zeynalova für Explore Azerbaijan’s wine history – and its unexpected German past published in National Geographic Traveler (Großbritannien)

HIGHLY COMMENDED – Angela Locatelli für The Stuff of Legends published in National Geographic Traveler (Großbritannien)

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AUSTRALASIA & OCEANIA

WINNER – Lauren Jarvis für Since Time published in OutThere Magazine

HIGHLY COMMENDED – Karen Edwards für In the footsteps of the ancestors published in JRNY Reisemagazin

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NORTH AMERICA – CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES

WINNER – Kate Eshelby für Mālama: The word embodying the spirit of Hawaii published in BBC Travel

HIGHLY COMMENDED – James March für North America’s First Indigenous-owned Winery published in TONIC Magazine

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CENTRAL AMERICA AND MEXICO

WINNER – Robyn Wilson für The five-day trek in the Guatemalan jungle that’s worth every blister published in Der Unabhängige

HIGHLY COMMENDED – Steph Dyson für How dreamy ‘cloud forests’ make this central American country an ideal alternative to Costa Rica published in Der Unabhängige

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THE CARIBBEAN

WINNER – Sarah Lee für From caves to coral reefs, this is how you can discover the wild side of Turks & Caicos published in National Geographic Traveler (Großbritannien)

HIGHLY COMMENDED – Rory Buccheri für Meet the family pioneering the Caribbean’s first ‘climate-smart islands’ published in Adventure.com

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SOUTH AMERICA & ANTARCTICA

WINNER – Katy Dartford für 24 hours in Lima published in Globetrotter Magazine

HIGHLY COMMENDED – Rupert Mellor für Resist this! published in OutThere Magazine

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GLOBAL

WINNER – Steph Dyson für Should you use AI to plan your travels? published in Adventure.com

HIGHLY COMMENDED – Stuart Kenny für Why Does Watching Bad Tourists on TV Make Us Want to Travel? published in Much Better Adventures

CONSUMER FEATURE OF THE YEAR – INTERNATIONAL WRITERS

UK, EUROPE & NORDIC REGION

WINNER – Daniel James Clarke für Exploring Portugal’s historic hilltop hamlets in a free electric hire car published in The Guardian

HIGHLY COMMENDED – Asia London Palomba für In Ireland, a Stone Age wellness therapy is making a comeback published in The Washington Post

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ASIA

WINNER – Veidehi Gite für Science and sustainability with the Baiga Tribe of Bandhavgarh published in Outlook Traveller

HIGHLY COMMENDED – Samantha Falewee für “Mongolia’s Shifting Tourism Industry—And What It Means for the Country’s Nomads” published in Conde Nast Traveller

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AUSTRALASIA & OCEANIA

WINNER – Ellie Cobb für The Indian Ocean’s laidback paradise on Earth published in BBC Travel

HIGHLY COMMENDED – Sarah Reid für A year ago, this South Pacific territory was off-limits. What’s it like to visit now? published in Adventure.com

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AFRICA, ARABIA & INDIAN OCEAN

WINNER – Jonny Bierman für Remembering Jane Goodall published in Travel + Leisure

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AMERICAS, THE CARIBBEAN & ANTARCTICA

WINNER – Emily Barlow für For hikers, this is one of the world’s best-preserved Inca roads. And no, it’s not the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu published in Adventure.com

HIGHLY COMMENDED – Annie Brown Verdin für What does freedom taste like? We meet the recipe-keepers of the first free Black town in the Americas published in Adventure.com

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GLOBAL

WINNER – Suzie Dundas für The Price of Paradise: Luxury Travel Can Save the World’s Wildest Places, but at What Cost? published in Matador Network

TRADE FEATURE OF THE YEAR

WINNER – Zanny Merullo für Visiting Indigenous Communities in the Yucatan Peninsula published in Travel Age West

HIGHLY COMMENDED – Jessica Reid für ‘We just want to be accepted’: When TTG met India’s ‘third gender’ community published in TTG-Medien

TELEVISION BROADCAST OF THE YEAR

WINNER – Mark Julian Edwards für Welcome to Sri Lanka broadcast on The Jet Set TV Show

PODCAST / AUDIO PROGRAMME OF THE YEAR

WINNER – Mary Novakovich für Krapanj’s sponge divers broadcast on BBC Radio 4

HIGHLY COMMENDED – Richard Hammond & Holly Tuppen für Community Tourism: What does good community tourism look like and can we measure its benefits? broadcast on It’s a Journey – a sustainable travel podcast

TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR

WINNER – Carolyn Boyd für Amuse Bouche published by Profile Books

TRAVEL GUIDE OF THE YEAR

WINNER – Emma Gibbs für Scotland’s North Highlands – 1st edition published by Bradt Guides

HIGHLY COMMENDED – Daniel James Clarke für Pocket Algarve – 3rd edition published by Lonely Planet

BLOG STORY OF THE YEAR

WINNER – Ana Duek für “Community-based tourism itinerary in the Amazon: an immersion in the Rio Negro” Veröffentlicht auf Viajar Verde

HIGHLY COMMENDED – Lucy Ruthnum für Lukomir Village – Visiting Bosnia’s Most Remote Village Veröffentlicht auf Absolutely Lucy

VLOG OF THE YEAR

Shivya Nath für Slow travel in Bali published on YouTube

SHORT-REEL OF THE YEAR

Veidehi Gite for Cairo published on The Krazy Butterfly Instagram Channel

PHOTO OF THE YEAR - COMMISSIONED

People & Community

WINNER – Lauren Mowery for images featured in Of Craft and Humanity: Tracing the Modern Silk Road through Uzbekistan published in Azure Road

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Wildlife & Environment

WINNER – Lynn Gail for images featured in Rare Breed published in International Traveller

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