U.S. Travel Association and Virgin Holidays are today launching the IPW Virgin competition; the opportunity for one travel writer to win return flights to Orlando to explore all the diverse city has to offer and then join the 25 strong UK media delegation at IPW (30 May – 3 June 2015), the largest U.S. travel show of the year.

IPW (www.ipw.com) is acknowledged as the largest single generator of travel to the US and Orlando is the 2015 host city.

The winner will have the opportunity to meet face to face with PR representatives from more than 1,000 tourist boards, attractions and travel organisations from every US region, to gather a mass of new and exclusive story ideas. On their return, the winner will provide Orlando content (copy, images and video) for use on Virgin Holidays Unleashed - www.virginholidays.co.uk/unleashed.

To enter the competition, media must tweet @VHols_Press with the hashtag #IPWVirgin and explain, as creatively as possible, why they should be the IPW Virgin for 2015.

“We are delighted to be partnering with Virgin Holidays on this competition,” said Malcolm Smith, general manager of IPW. “Our goal is to secure 20% media first-timers to IPW Orlando in 2015, from a variety of different media disciplines. Virgin Holidays is a vibrant, cutting-edge brand that actively encourages young talent, so we think they are the perfect partner for this creative and to help promote IPW to a new media audience.”

Phil Bloomfield, Head of Corporate Communications at Virgin Holidays commented: “As the number one UK holiday company to Orlando, and a champion of new talent, this competition is a natural fit for us. We’re looking forward to seeing the responses from the IPW Virgin, and learning about the winners’ experience of this exciting destination and industry leading event.”

The competition runs from 3 November 2014 until 28 February 2015. Entries will not be considered if the journalist has previously attended IPW.

The prize includes return flights to Orlando with Virgin Holidays for one participant, accommodation, activities and some meals during the pre or post IPW Orlando press trip, and hotel accommodation, ground transportation, excursions and all meals during IPW. Attendance at the following is compulsory: 1) media brunch and tour on Sunday, 31 May 2015 2) Media Marketplace and awards ceremony on Monday, 1 June 2015 and 3) open floor media appointments on Tuesday, 2 June 2015. Flights are non-transferable.

The winner must be available to travel to the U.S. between 30 May – 3 June 2015 along with additional days pre or post IPW for the Orlando press trip.