The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) announced the winners of its third annual Travel Writer of the Year and Travel Photographer of the Year awards.

Freelance journalist Christopher P. Baker won the North America Travel Writer of the Year award for various coverage of the Caribbean region including articles in Caribbean Travel & Life and Robb Report as well as a guide book and coffee table book on Cuba.

Canadian based photographer Michael DeFreitas took the honours as North America Travel Photographer of the Year for his work in various publications including: Caribbean Travel & Life, Diver Magazine, Canadian Traveller, Caribbean Travel Planner, and Delta Sky Magazine.

CTO also announced Theresa Storm the winner, for the second year, of the Bill Baxter Canadian Travel Writer of the Year award, which was introduced last year specifically for Canadian writers. Theresa was awarded for her work in various Canadian print and on-line publications.

This year CTO also presented a Special Merit Award to Beth Harpaz, Associated Press, for her article that was syndicated throughout U.S. Newspapers that truly reflected ‘Outstanding Objective Coverage of the Caribbean Region Following the Hurricanes.’

The various winners received their awards today at the Visa sponsored luncheon during the 28th annual Caribbean Tourism Conference (CTC-28) in St. Thomas.

The Travel Writer of the Year and Travel Photographer of the Year awards are part of the CTO Worldwide Travel Writer/Photographer Awards Programme and was created to reward writers and photographers for their excellence in covering Caribbean tourism.

CTO received over 100 entries for this year’s contest. Entries were judged on individual merit by a panel of judges headed by Professor Dorothy Reid, director, Journalism Programme and Media Arts Department, Long Island University.

“With the completion of the third year of the programme, we have seen a growth in the quality and quantity of entries that were received,” said Hugh Riley, CTO’s director of marketing for the Americas. “The instant success of the programme has provided us with the ability to tap into an expanded market of writers and photographers and we look forward to the continued success in years to come.”