Author: Anonymous
Source: free-articles
NEW YORK, NY September 25, 2004 -- This has already been an award-winning year for IgoUgo, which recently collected the 2004 โ€œWebby Awardโ€ for best U.S. travel website. Now, with its 2004 U GO! Awards, the world's 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.
โ€œIgoUgo.com is only as successful as our members make it,โ€ 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. โ€œFortunately 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.โ€ To date, the site's 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 โ€œMember of the Year,โ€ โ€œRookie of the Year,โ€ and โ€œPhotographer of the Year,โ€ plus an array of outstanding individual journals that were nominated and voted upon by IgoUgo members. This year, IgoUgo named veteran site member โ€œIdler,โ€ who boasts 23 journals and 606 photos to her credit, as its โ€œMember of the Year.โ€
โ€œIdler's ability to create helpful, information-packed travel journals is only part of her appeal. Whether she's 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,โ€ Donnelly said. Click here to read a sample of some of Idler's award-winning handiwork: http://www.igougo.com/planning/journalGuide.asp?GuideID=12853
IgoUgo member โ€œartsnletters,โ€ author of 8 journals, took home the award for โ€œRookie of the Year,โ€ in large part due to her keen sense of humor. โ€œOne of the greatest pleasures of my job at IgoUgo is watching new members thrive,โ€ Donnelly said. โ€œWant to know how good artsnletters is? She took Provence, a place where I've spent a good deal of time, and made it brand-new for me.โ€ Click here to read a sample of artsnletters' experiences: http://www.igougo.com/planning/journalGuide.asp?GuideID=30569
โ€Jose Kevo,โ€ chosen as IgoUgo's โ€œPhotographer of the Year,โ€ rounded out the group. โ€œHe's a faithful tour guide and a gifted photographer who manages to capture the essence of a place through images of its people,โ€ said Donnelly. โ€œStunning travel photos are one of IgoUgo's biggest strengths, so Jose Kevo had some tough competition.โ€ Click here to see Jose Kevo's 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:
โ€ขTraffic Stopper Award (Best City Journal)
โ€ขFresh Air Award (Best Non-City Journal)
โ€ขFlex-Your Muscle Award (Best Action/Adventure Journal)
โ€ขโ€œAre We There Yetโ€ Award (Best Family Journal)
โ€ข4x4 Award (Best Off-The-Beaten Path Journal)
โ€ขBargain Bin Award (Best Budget Journal)
โ€ขMint-on-the-Pillow Award (Best Luxury Journal)
โ€ขLove Boat Award (Best Cruise Journal)
โ€ขTour Guide Award (Best Culture/Historical Journal)
โ€ขSide-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 Vancouverโ€"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 who've 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