The winners of the Caribbean Tourism Organization`s (CTO) inaugural Travel Writer/Photography Awards Program will be honoured at the annual Governments of the Caribbean State Ball on June 6, 2003 at New York’s distinguished Waldorf - Astoria.
CTO
received over 100 qualified submissions from writers, producers and photographers from the Caribbean, Europe and North America for the awards program.
“We have received an impressive line-up of entries from the travel media, writers and photographers, all offering breathtaking images and newsworthy articles, all clearly showing the diversity, serenity, beauty and warmth of the Caribbean” said Hugh Riley, CTO’s director of marketing for the Americas.
CTO designed the awards program to recognise and reward excellence in features and photos published or broadcast about the Caribbean region. 
Writers and photographers will receive awards for feature articles and photographs appearing in North American, European and Caribbean markets.
Over 700 delegates are expected to be at the Ball when the awards are presented. The Governments of the Caribbean State Ball is an elegant, black-tie
event which was inaugurated in 1973 as a fundraiser to help market the Caribbean. However, its charitable purposes have expanded to raising funds to provide scholarships for Caribbean nationals to become leaders in Caribbean Tourism.
The Ball, which has always featured the best of Caribbean entertainment and food, will cap a series of events during Caribbean Week, June 1-6, 2003 in New York
City, including the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) Board of Directors meeting, CTO Council of Ministers meeting, an interfaith celebration, a Caribbean fair and a Media Marketplace. The legendary Apple Elliott Orchestra of the Bahamas will provide entertainment for the Ball.
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