2024-25 COMPETITION
2024-25 Lowell Thomas Competition
RECOGNIZING EXCELLENCE IN TRAVEL JOURNALISM SINCE 1984
SATW FOUNDATION
LOWELL THOMAS TRAVEL JOURNALISM COMPETITION
Rewarding Journalists for Outstanding Work in the Field for 40 Years
The SATW Foundation sponsors the annual Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition. The first contest honored work done in 1984. Today the Foundation awards more than $25,000 annually in prize money for outstanding print, digital, multimedia and broadcast work. It is the premier competition in North America in the field of travel journalism. It has gained its stature for several reasons, most notably:
• it does not promote any particular destination or travel product,
• it does not have any membership requirements for journalists to enter, and
• it is judged independently by the faculty at a top U.S. school of journalism.
2024-25 Lowell Thomas Competition
The 2025 competition winners were announced at the SATW Convention in Detroit on September 11, 2025.
Who We Are
A board of directors from the travel journalism field governs the Foundation, serving as volunteers. Directors provide guidance for the annual competition to keep it up-to-date with the changing media scene.
Supporters and Donors
Through donations, the Foundation has awarded more than $575,000 in prizes to journalists over 38 years. A generous contribution by Gold Supporter Carnival Corp., the world’s largest cruise company, makes the sustainability of the annual competition possible.
SATW Foundation Announces 2025 Recipients of the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards
Choosing among 1,457 entries, 26 judges at the University of Missouri School of Journalism conferred 120 awards on editors, writers, photographers, podcasters, social media experts and videographers in the 2025 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition. The awards, overseen and funded by the SATW Foundation, were announced today at the SATW annual convention in Detroit.
The University of Missouri School of Journalism conducted the judging, managed by Jennifer Rowe, Professional Practice Professor and Carol J. Loomis Faculty Fellow, along with Professor Heather Isherwood and newsroom coordinator Ellie Newberry-Wortham, all of whom coordinated the 26 judges.
Rowe and Isherwood agreed that this year travel journalists created work that frequently reflected a search for deeper meaning. Two words came up often in judges’ comments: “connection” and “understanding.” The pieces also sought to explore the reasons we travel. Judges repeatedly noted the expertise, personality and talent of the writers, citing entries that “put readers on the edge of their seats’ or were elevated by “smart, agile reportage.’ In multimedia entries, that commitment was just as vigorous, Rowe said, and included videos that “take viewers on a rich journey” and offered “immersive soundscapes and intentional visual design” or Instagram entries that delivered a “masterclass in bite-sized travel storytelling.”
The Society of American Travel Writers Foundation was founded in 1981 to honor outstanding work in travel journalism. Through its Lowell Thomas Competition, the Foundation supports and helps sustain high-quality travel media.
SATW (the Society of American Travel Writers) is the pre-eminent professional association of travel journalists and communicators. Learn more about SATW by visiting its website, www.satw.org.
2020-21 Lowell Thomas Contest Opens
The 2020-21 SATW Foundation Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition is open for entries. The deadline is April 1. Work must have been published/posted/broadcast in English between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021, except as noted in book categories.
Yes, it has been a difficult year, with travel at a near full stop, but we are here again, stronger than ever and ready to celebrate your good work. We have even more awards and prize money for journalists this year.
We’re excited to announce a new category, the Robert Haru Fisher Award for Travel Health/Safety Coverage — certainly a timely one. Fisher, a distinguished editor, writer and former president of the SATW Foundation, helped start the Lowell Thomas competition. He died in March 2020 at age 90 and left a bequest to fund this award. We are grateful for his generosity in continuing to contribute to the craft he loved.
The contest invites work in all types of media, including online, audio and video, not just print. All entries must be made through the BetterBNC Media Awards Platform. Electronic entries are required in all but a few categories.
If you have not entered in the past, then you must sign up at the contest website and create an account. (It’s a simple process).
Judges will be faculty at the University of Missouri School of Journalism with Emeritus Prof. John Fennell, Prof. Jennifer Rowe and administrative assistant Kim Townlain coordinating.
Click here for details about the contest, including rules, eligibility, categories and how to enter.
Information also is at the BetterBNC website.
If you have questions and/or want more information, email us at awards@satwf.com.