Being able to communicate well in writing is important in any career in today’s global economy. The essay competition reinforces the GTTP’s emphasis on encouraging research and communications skills of young people we hope to attract to our industry. The theme of the essay competition is "Secret Trails of My Country," and it offers an opportunity for students to think about what visitors might find interesting in their communities.
ELIGIBILITY: The competition will be open to all students currently enrolled in GTTP member schools in our members: Brazil, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom.
PURPOSE: The Aim of the competition is to provide another opportunity for GTTP Learners to research and write about tourism; to improve written communication skills; to generate articles for the GTTP website; and to highlight travel writing as a career option.
GUIDELINES
- Each entrant must determine his/her own area of focus and present an article (essay) based on research or experience. The article must, however, reflect the topic for 2012: Secret Trails of My Country (exploring and exposing one or more natural, historic or cultural attractions that are often overlooked; commercial venues, such as amusement parks, are not eligible as a subject)
- Entrants may submit only one original article which must be accompanied by an entry form (available from your teacher or by clicking here).
- Entries must be certified by your Teacher and/or the GTTP Director in your country.
- Each must be at least 800 words in length, but not more than 1000 words. All articles must be typed and double-spaced on letter-sized paper or submitted in this format as an attached file to an email.
- Entries must be accompanied by a minimum of two and a maximum of four captioned photographs which reflect the text of the article. The photographs do not have to be the work of the writer, but writers must secure the photographer’s permission to use the pictures. This written permission must be attached to the article. (See sample “Permission to Use” included here). Photos may be submitted electronically with the entry. Permission slips can be scanned and submitted electronically, but original copies must be provided in addition either by fax or mail to the GTTP Director in your country.
- The article must include a bibliography detailing the sources of information. If the source of information was your own on-site research, this must be noted.
JUDGING CRITERIA:
- Creativity
- Relevance to theme/Content
- Relevance of photographs to text and relevance of the caption
- Grammar
- Originality & Style
PRIZES, INCENTIVES & AWARDS
NATIONAL PRIZE PACKAGE:
- US $400 for first place winner
- US $200 for second place winner
- International Certificate of Achievement
- Advisor/Teacher of Winning First Place Entrant Nationally: Day Trip to top Attraction/Weekend at Hotel
Note: Cash prizes may be used for the winner’s travel and/or education and will be dispersed by the national GTTP Director. All entries will be the property of the Global Travel & Tourism Partnership.
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: Entries with completed entry and photo permission forms must be submitted to your national Director’s office by 2012 March 30.
WHERE TO SEND YOUR ENTRY: For the address of the Director for your country, go to www.gttp.org/pages/contact, and locate your country. If you submit your entry by mail, address it to: GTTP International Travel Writing Competition, followed by the Director’s address. If you submit your entry by email, put in the subject line: GTTP Travel Writing Competition
THE FOLLOWING GTTP MEMBER COUNTRIES AND THEIR SCHOOLS ARE ELIGIBLE: Brazil, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Russia, South Africa, United Kingdom
REMINDERS: You must include the entry form, signed by your teacher, plus your article, photos, and photo permissions.
BASIC RULES ABOUT GOOD TRAVEL WRITING
If you decide to enter the GTTP Travel Writing Contest, you might find it helpful to read some of the comments that judges made about prior entries. The comments below are taken from comments that the different judges made about the essays. If you read them carefully, you will learn some basic ‘rules’ about good travel writing:
- Photos and captions add to the story. The story addresses most of the key points but needs more specifics to make readers want to visit this place and tell them how to do it.
- Story should get to the point sooner about the activities the place offers – five paragraphs is too late; the reader needs to be told right away what the story is about and why he/she should read it.
- Describe the natural surroundings (paint a picture with words – don’t rely on the photos).
- The final two paragraphs are mostly a general conclusion and do not add to the story. Better to use those words to provide specifics mentioned above.
- In photo captions, provide specifics of what the photos show (where is it) so readers can find the spots if they want instead of generic information.
- The story starts with a good description of the attraction and its location (many of the stories did not tell readers where the sites are located). But when the raises a question, it should answer it immediately. Travel writing should paint a picture, so more important than the names of the streets in the first paragraph is a description of the setting and condition.
- Define phrases that readers outside the area might not know, such as “traditional healer.”
- Captions and photo credits are not provided, and neither is a bibliography – all required in the contest guidelines.
- The story contains some good information and descriptions, but the writer substitutes “surprises” for “secrets.” Experiences that are new for the writer are not necessarily little-known or overlooked by the public – if they are both, the story does not support that point.
- Two attention-getting photos are included, but the hand-written captions are too brief -- they should provide enough information for readers to understand what they are looking at.
- Writing in the first person is a good way to engage the reader, but you cannot include everything you do in the story – it has to have relevance for the reader. For example, include that you bought a souvenir only if the souvenir is relevant or interesting to the reader (in this case, you didn’t tell us what souvenir you bought, so it’s not relevant).
- The ending (last three paragraphs) is anticlimactic. Don’t write a conclusion – end with a description of the a part of the trip or the entire experience, and let the reader conclude that this was a place worth visiting or trip worth taking.
- Bibliography was not included.
- Avoid writing in “second person” – if readers disagree or don’t relate, you could lose them. Better to write Travel stories in first person.
- Photos lack captions and credits, and story lacks a bibliography – both requirements of the contest.
- Writers should never say, “So just take my word on it” – provide the information and let the readers decide whether the place is worth visiting.
- I was disappointed by the punctuation and grammar. The writer should pay more attention to full stops, semicolons, and repetitive words.
- Good, creative attempt at telling reader about a “secret” – a little-known walking path to a popular tourist attraction. Two significant problems -- the story assumes that the reader knows what the tourist attraction is, and it does not tell readers enough specific information about the walking path.
- Be specific – tell the distance and the travel time. How much time does it take to make the trip by tram, bus or minibus?
- Original highlights were lacking. It didn’t intrigue or excite.
- Define or describe names of places – don’t assume the reader is familiar with them (since this is a Travel story, a tourist probably would be unfamiliar with local landmarks).
- Avoid asking questions of readers – when they don’t know the answers, they may give up reading further. When the story does ask questions, the writer MUST provide the answers.
- Avoid editorializing and generalizing – “Take the time to … and you will be rewarded.” When the story describes the destination and/or experience in detail, it should lead the reader to that conclusion without the writer stating it. After reading your story, the reader should want to take the time.
- Submission failed to include a bibliography, which is a requirement of the contest guidelines.
- This was my favorite because the writer chose something really out of the ordinary and explained it very well, with description, science, and research.
- Typical of many of us who submit papers before they are properly proofed and corrected, there are, in addition to the more complicated errors, those “stupid” errors that can and should be found and corrected.
Download: entry form, photo permission
CONTACT INFORMATION:
For submissions: send you entry to your country director (see list here)
Website: http://www.gttp.org/
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