IgoUgo, the Webby-Award-winning premier online travel community, announces the 2004 winners of its Igo U GO! Awards. The Awards honor outstanding member achievement in journal writing and photography as well as individual categories including Member of the Year, Photographer of the Year and Rookie of the Year.
NEW YORK, NY (PRWEB) September 25, 2004 -- This has already been an award-winning year for IgoUgo, which recently collected the 2004 Webby Award" for best U.S. travel website. Now, with its 2004 U GO! Awards, the worlds largest online travel community is the one giving away the awards as it honors the finest travel writing and photography submitted to IgoUgo over the past year.
IgoUgo.com is only as successful as our members make it," said company President Jim Donnelly, who co-founded the site alongside CEO Tony Cheng in 2000 as a way to harness the knowledge of everyday travelers. Fortunately for us, these talented award winners show how extraordinarily eloquent our members can be, and how much time they often devote to their travel journals." To date, the sites 350,000 members (all real-life travelers) have combined to contribute more than 300,000 travel journals and 200,000 photos covering 4,100 destinations.
The 2004 U GO! Awards recognized a Member of the Year," Rookie of the Year," and Photographer of the Year," plus an array of outstanding individual journals that were nominated and voted upon by IgoUgo members. This year, IgoUgo named veteran site member Idler," who boasts 23 journals and 606 photos to her credit, as its Member of the Year."
Idlers ability to create helpful, information-packed travel journals is only part of her appeal. Whether shes overlooking the cliffs at Normandy or on a whimsical tour of miniature golf courses in Myrtle Beach, her engaging, professional writing really takes you on a ride," Donnelly said. Click here to read a sample of some of Idlers award-winning handiwork: http://www.igougo.com/planning/journalGuide.asp?GuideID=12853
IgoUgo member artsnletters," author of 8 journals, took home the award for Rookie of the Year," in large part due to her keen sense of humor. One of the greatest pleasures of my job at IgoUgo is watching new members thrive," Donnelly said. Want to know how good artsnletters is? She took Provence, a place where Ive spent a good deal of time, and made it brand-new for me." Click here to read a sample of artsnletters experiences: http://www.igougo.com/planning/journalGuide.asp?GuideID=30569
"Jose Kevo," chosen as IgoUgos Photographer of the Year," rounded out the group. Hes a faithful tour guide and a gifted photographer who manages to capture the essence of a place through images of its people," said Donnelly. Stunning travel photos are one of IgoUgos biggest strengths, so Jose Kevo had some tough competition." Click here to see Jose Kevos photos: http://www.igougo.com/planning/journalGuide.asp?GuideID=9250
Aside from the three member awards, IgoUgo also offered a series of awards acknowledging outstanding journals in the following categories:
•Traffic Stopper Award (Best City Journal)
•Fresh Air Award (Best Non-City Journal)
•Flex-Your Muscle Award (Best Action/Adventure Journal)
•Are We There Yet" Award (Best Family Journal)
•4x4 Award (Best Off-The-Beaten Path Journal)
•Bargain Bin Award (Best Budget Journal)
•Mint-on-the-Pillow Award (Best Luxury Journal)
•Love Boat Award (Best Cruise Journal)
•Tour Guide Award (Best Culture/Historical Journal)
•Side-Splitter Award (Most Entertaining Journal)
Click here for details on the winners of these journal awards: http://www.igougo.com/hallOfFame/winners2004.asp
The 2004 U GO! Awards were presented at a gala awards dinner on September 18 at the Pacific Palisades Hotel in Vancouver—an event that capped off the weekend-long Third Annual IgoUgo Member Get-Together, during which seven new members were inducted into the IgoUgo Hall of Fame. Hall of Fame recognition is awarded to members who have contributed for at least 2 years and whove shown outstanding achievement in their journaling and photography. Details on the 2004 IgoUgo Hall of Fame inductees can be found at: http://www.igougo.com/hallOfFame/
In addition to its consumer offering, IgoUgo works with a number of leading travel industry partners to leverage their community-building expertise and to create customized travel communities. Clients include Cendant (NYSE: CD), a global travel provider; various European tourism boards; and Rough Guides, a travel-guidebook series owned by Pearson Education (NYSE: PSO). By providing authentic travel content to other travel companies, IgoUgo helps them not only to increase online sales, but also to generate site traffic and strengthen customer loyalty.
For more information on IgoUgo, visit www.igougo.com.
Contact:
John Kelly
John Kelly PR
434-296-5577
john@johnkellypr.com
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