International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association Promotes Industry Achievement Through a New Excellence Awards Program

Diamond Bar, CA, October 21, 2010 --(PR.com)-- The International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA) Board of Directors is happy to announce the immediate launch of the organization's new Excellence Awards program. This program is designed to recognize outstanding achievement in all aspects of the travel, tourism, hospitality, culinary, beverage and destination marketing industries.

“One of the most rewarding aspects of being a food, wine and travel writer is recognizing and spreading the word about exceptional talent in the travel and tourism industry,” says Allen Cox, IFWTWA board member and chair of the Excellence Awards program. “Excellence, in this sense, is not necessarily synonymous with luxury, but with outstanding cultural, experiential and environmental education and stewardship.”

IFWTWA regular and student members may nominate industry professionals for Excellence Awards. The nominations will be evaluated by IFWTWA Award Committee members and the Board of Directors. These Excellence Awards will be in the form of professional certificates of recognition signed by the IFWTWA President and the Excellence Award Committee member who evaluated the nomination.

IFWTWA Excellence Awards fall into the following categories:

Culinary Excellence Award – recognizes chefs and other outstanding culinary professionals

Wine/Brew/Other Beverage Excellence Award – recognizes winemakers, brew masters, and others who stand out in the beverage industry

Hospitality Excellence Award – recognizes exceptional and innovative lodging establishments

Tourism Excellence Award – recognizes the best tour guides and companies

Destination Marketing Excellence Award – recognizes the best convention and visitor bureaus, tourism offices, and public relations professionals

In addition, IFWTWA has launched an award program focused on excellence in travel, food and wine journalism: the Journalism Excellence Award (geared for professional journalists) and the Emerging Writer Excellence Award. These annual awards replace IFWTWA's annual Wine, Food and Travel Writer Scholarship Contest. The winners of both awards earn a complimentary one-year membership in IFWTWA, publication in Global Writes (IFWTWA's on-line magazine) and more. In addition, the Journalism Excellence Award recipient wins complimentary attendance at IFWTWA's annual conference; the Emerging Writer Award recipient wins a cash prize.

“When our members discover an innovative chef, a passionate and skilled winemaker, a hotel operator who's found a way to take hospitality to the next level, or a talented food, wine and travel writer, it is our privilege to recognize those achievements and share them with the media and the world,” says Maralyn Hill, President of IFWTWA. “These awards are reserved for the best of the best. We hope every individual or company receiving an IFWTWA Excellence Award views it as a clear message of prestige and honor from a group of seasoned travel, food and wine journalists who experience and write about all aspects of the travel and tourism industry.”

About IFWTWA: The International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA) is a global network of journalists who cover the hospitality and lifestyle fields, and the people who promote them. In 1956 a group of prominent Frenchmen started rating restaurants. This small group, along with an American, conceptualized an international version of their organization. It became the International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association when formally created as a non-profit organization in California in 1981.

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