Winning Travel Images and Stories Now on SoutheastAsia.org

BANGKOK, 17 May 2010 – The April winners for the www.SoutheastAsia.org content contest have been announced. Both Editor’s Choice and People’s Choice awards for travel photography and travel writing are now online on the increasingly popular travel portal for Southeast Asian destinations.

The winning entries represent the finest and most popular entries from the first month of the inaugural awards. There are two months remaining in the contest.

In the travel writing category, “A Million Smiles in Laos” by Janet Cochrane won the Editor’s Choice Award for April. The story recounts a journey of charm and discovery through rural Laos.

“The 300 Peso Love Story” by Dorz won the People’s Choice Award. The tale is a rose-tinted remembrance of footloose travel in the Philippines that led to romance and the creation of a new family.

For photography, the Editor’s Choice went to Afrinaldi for a dramatic action image called “Pacu Jawi” or “Cow Race,” a rural tradition in Western Sumatra, Indonesia.

The People’s Choice Award went to Kayelight for a Bohol beach picture entitled, “If Mona Lisa Were a Man…”

The People’s Choice Awards are voted on by visitors to www.SoutheastAsia.org. Editor’s Choice Awards are chosen by a panel of judges that includes content managers and stakeholders of the website, which is the official B2C portal of the ASEAN Tourism Association.

Monthly award winners each receive US$750. Four more winners will be announced for both May and June. All monthly Editor’s and People’s Choice winners plus the runners-up in the People’s Choice qualify for entry in to the Grand Prize Awards.

The Editor’s Choice Grand Prize winners in each category will receive US$1,750.

Voting for the People’s Choice Grand Prize takes place in July. The winner of the popular vote in each category will receive US$1,250.

“Nearly all the varied and evocative images and features entered in the Southeast Asia Awards 2010 can be enjoyed on the site,” said Scott Holmes, Marketing and Content Manager for SoutheastAsia.org, which is funded by the ASEAN Competitiveness Enhancement Project, a pro-ASEAN tourism initiative of USAID.

Visitors to the site can read a diverse range of travel writing submissions such as features on Yogyakarta in Java, the appeal of wild nature in Miri in Borneo, the Van Phuc silk village in Hanoi, climbing to the summit of Gunung Ledang in Malaysia, cyclo riding in Hanoi, and cruising in Solo, Indonesia.

“We look forward to receiving new submissions for the May awards. The April entrants have set the bar high,” said Holmes.

A high resolution image of “Pacu Jawi / Cow Race” can be downloaded here: http://www.southeastasia.org/images/contestphotos/Pacu_Jawi.jpg

Travel writers and photographers can find out more about the awards at http://www.SoutheastAsia.org/index.php/seaawards/about/

Frequently asked questions are available here: http://www.SoutheastAsia.org/index.php/seaawards/faq/

For editors: Images of campaign logos and Southeast Asian destinations can be downloaded here.

About the ASEAN Tourism Association (ASEANTA)
The ASEAN Tourism Association (ASEANTA) was formed on 27th March 1971. ASEANTA is a non-profit tourism association comprising both public and private tourism sector organizations from ASEAN. ASEANTA has grown to become a tourism association of influence within the ASEAN tourism landscape, playing an integral role in shaping tourism development growth and policies in the ASEAN region. Further information and ASEANTA mission statement.

About ASEAN Competitiveness Enhancement (ACE)
ACE was designed and funded by USAID’s Regional Development Mission in Asia (RDMA), which is based in Bangkok. ACE’s objective is to enhance the integration and competitiveness imperatives of two of ASEAN’s priority sectors: travel & tourism and textiles & apparel. The ACE Project is part of the broader ASEAN-US Enhanced Partnership which was launched in 2006, under which the United States pledged its support to ASEAN in pursuing its objective of becoming an ASEAN Community by 2015. The ACE Project is managed by Nathan Associates Inc. E-mail: rjgurley@ace-advance.com. Website: www.ace-advance.com.

Further information
Ikhwan Al-Rashid Abdul Rahman
ASEANTA Marketing Director
Tel: (60) 32692 6850
Fax: (60) 32694 2179
Email: ikhwan@aseanta.org / ikhwanalrashid@yahoo.com

Press queries
Ken Scott
ScottAsia Communications
Tel: (66) 81 931 2753
E-mail: ken@scottasia.net