Letter from the Editor in Chief
The Travel Weekly Magellan Awards launched in the fall of 2008, on the eve of the economic meltdown. But apparently the expression "when the going gets tough, the tough get going" is true. Each succeeding year of the program we've had significantly more entries, the competition gets stiffer and the bar is raised. And each year, the quality of the entries improves dramatically.
The creativity and imagination of the travel industry's top marketers and designers is inspiring, and the extraordinary achievements on display in the following pages gives ample proof to the claim that the Magellans have become, in very short order, the most prestigious recognition in the travel industry.
There were several companies that won multiple awards. The creative juices were flowing freely at American Express, Royal Caribbean International and Norwegian Cruise Line, each of which won 10 or more Magellans. And Sandals Resorts, Viking River Cruises, Travel Leaders, Tauck World Discovery, Celebrity Cruises, Holland America Line, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Travel Impressions and Virtuoso each won five or more. But the diversity of entrants and winners demonstrates a broad commitment to excellence across the industry.
Once again, we had the benefit of an extraordinary judging panel -- Bob Dickinson, Peter Greenberg, John "Johnny Jet" DiScala, Marc Mancini, Rudy Maxa, Lalia Rach and Patricia Schultz -- and are grateful to them for giving their time in reviewing the entries. Every year I expand the number of judges in the hopes of lightening their workload, and every year the number of entries goes up proportionately. The judges are not remunerated for their duties but volunteer out of a spirit of service and commitment to the industry. They appreciate the importance of recognizing and rewarding exceptional achievement, and I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank them.
(One other note about the judging: While we feel confident that this particular panel could be objective and unbiased no matter whose work they were reviewing, we have taken steps to ensure that there is not even the appearance of conflicts of interest. None of the judges were given entries to critique in the categories in which they work or have worked.)
I'd like to add my personal, heartfelt congratulations to this year's silver and gold winners. Winning a Travel Weekly Magellan Award is a significant achievement. It is no coincidence that we went to the same company that produces the statuettes and designs for the Oscar and the Emmy to create the Magellan trophy. We have worked hard to make the Magellan recognition as significant in our industry as those two programs are in theirs.
Finally, one of the benefits for Travel Weekly of administering the Magellan Awards is the inspiration that comes during the process of reviewing, judging and putting together this special issue. We're impressed and inspired by the Magellan entrants and hope that the display of some of the work of this year's winners will serve as inspiration for you, and that your name will be among the winners next year.
With best wishes,
Arnie Weissmann Editor in Chief
Travel Weekly
Click here to view this year's winners!