The Sunday Times is this week celebrating a double triumph in travel awards.

Chris Haslam got the ball rolling on Tuesday when he landed the Travel Writer of the Year (under 1,500 words) gong in the AITO (Association of Independent Tour Operators) Awards.

From a shortlist of 15, Chris emerged victorious with his feature on ‘Mexico’s undiscovered coast’ in the Westminster Central Hall ceremony.

One judge described Chris’s winning feature as “quirkily humorous descriptions brought the slightly off-the-wall nature of the area completely to life.”

Last night (Wednesday), The Sunday Times Travel Editor Steve Bleach collected the National Broadsheet Newspaper Section of the Year trophy in the Travel Media Awards at the ME London Hotel.

The Sunday Times Travel section won against other shortlisted titles including The Times Travel (Saturday).

Bleach said: “It’s the second year on the trot we’ve won Travel Section of the Year and that really means a lot.

“These awards have a good, rigorous judging process, and we know we’ve won on merit. The team have done an outstanding job this year and it’s a tribute to their hard work and talent that we’ve managed to retain the title.

“To do that the night after our chief travel writer Chris Haslam won AITO Travel Writer of the Year just shows the paper’s commitment to quality travel journalism. It’s great to have it recognised.”