Canadian Geographic wins four travel journalists' awards

Canadian Geographic won four awards -- two first place and two awards of merit -- in the North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) 2009 awards competition. The awards are announced now, but presented May 11 in Reno, Nevada.

• Robin and Arlene Karpan won gold for best Landscape/Seascape photography (“Sandland,” March 2009)
• Lisa Gregoire for best Budget Travel article (“Hut spot,” November 2008).
• Douglas Hunter, Patricia Pearson and Dawn Calleja won a merit award for their volunteer vacation features in the Travel Series, Circulation Less Than 250,000 category 
• A merit awards also went to the November 2008 issue -- Canadian Geographic Travel -- in the Travel Magazine category (second only to National Geographic Traveler).

Other Canadian first place winners were

• Cover Photo, Illustration - Andre Doyon, Spafax
• Consumer Tips & Advice - Kate Pocock, CAA Magazine 
• Destination Travel, Domestic Magazine – Michael DeFreitas, Ensemble Vacations
• Byline Travel Column, Less than 250,000 – John Lee, BC Business Magazine
• Travel Series, More than 250,000 – Ilana Weitzman, Alec Scott, Charlene Rooke, Spafax 
• Photography, Overall Excellence - John Cullen, Spafax

Complete list of winners.