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Railtripping voted ‘Travel Journalist of the Year 2023’

04/03/2024

We’re proud and honoured to announce that Railtripping has won the Columbus Travel Award 2023 in the ‘Travel Journalist’ category. At the festive award ceremony on 22 November 2023 in Amsterdam, we received the Egg of Columbus: an award that symbolises how a seemingly difficult issue like sustainability can be tackled with practical, workable solutions and initiatives.

The Columbus Travel Awards, also known as the Oscars of the Dutch travel industry, are presented each year to organisations and individuals who are committed to making the world a better place for travellers and local people. Columbus Travel is one of the largest travel magazines in the Netherlands, and it also has an inspiring digital platform, columbusmagazine.nl. The idea behind the Columbus Travel Awards is to celebrate exceptional sustainable initiatives and individuals in the travel industry and to make them better known to a wider audience.

In selecting nominees for the award categories, the Columbus Travel editors are guided by the ‘break-even travel’ principles for sustainable travel, as well as by the simple question: how does the nominee make the world better for travellers and the local population?

Jury report on Railtripping:

“Bart Giepmans, Bonnie Joosten, Gerdien Barnard and the team of rail travel enthusiasts at Railtripping.com share their passion and knowledge about the most beautiful train routes and destinations in Europe. The clearly presented and catchy information is also a feature of the best-selling book Platform Europe, which they compiled as a result of their train journeys.”

Mark Mackintosh, Columbus Travel editor-in-chief:

“Of all the nominees, the team from Railtripping and Platform Europe best demonstrates how, with the right team and the right idea, you can join forces and make a greater cultural and social impact. The way the team members perfectly intertwine old and new media serves as an inspiration for other travel journalists and media initiatives.”

Winnaars Columbus Travel Awards 2023
Columbus Travel Awards 2023

Photos: Damon Rigter

Bart Giepmans
Bart practically grew up on a train and has been discovering Europe by rail since his childhood. Stints at the Dutch and German Railways and at Interrail have turned him into an ardent ambassador for train travel. Bart has a passion for history and Alpine trails and is commuting regularly between Utrecht and Berlin.