National Geographic Traveller (UK) Photography Competition 2025 winners announced

nationalgeographic.com/travel

LONDON (29 May 2025) — National Geographic Traveller (UK) has announced the winners of its Photography Competition 2025.

Seeking to highlight the best in travel photography, this prestigious annual competition, celebrating its 12th year, was open to entrants from across the UK and Ireland. Photographers, both amateur and professional, submitted travel images taken during the past year in any of six categories: Landscape, People, Wildlife, Food, City life and Portfolio.

Pat Riddell, editor of National Geographic Traveller (UK), said:
“Our competition goes from strength to strength, with this year’s easily one of the strongest yet. World-class photography remains at the heart of the National Geographic brand, and the winners happily sit in that category.

“Capturing everything from the dramatic landscapes of Iceland and Italy to incredible wildlife shots in Spain and Canada, the 18 finalists — who made the cut from thousands of entries — have really elevated the level of travel photography with their ingenuity and skill.”

The grand prize winner this year is Justin Cliffe for his entry in the ‘People’ category. The portrait of a woman and her great granddaughter in Lào Cai province, Vietnam was a firm favourite with the judging panel.

The judges said: “This is such an intimate moment between generations that captures so much beauty and humanity. The colours, light and textures work really well.”

Justin receives a luxury three-night escape to a UK hotel of his choice, courtesy of Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH). With over 600 hotels in 90 destinations, including 36 in the UK, SLH offers boutique stays with a strong sense of place, from chic city-centre hotels to rustic fishermen’s huts. The prize also includes a copy of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, a limited-edition coffee table book featuring the brand’s beautifully curated portfolio. slh.com


The winners are...


Grand prize winner: Justin Cliffe


Category winners:


Landscape: Pawel Zygmunt
Hveravellir, Iceland


People: Justin Cliffe
Lào Cai province, Vietnam


Wildlife: Victoria Andrews
Toledo, Spain


Food: Prabir Kumar Mitra
Tibet, China


City life: Scott Antcliffe
Singapore


Portfolio: Joshua Mallett
Various


Launched in 2011, the prestigious annual competition seeks the UK’s best travel photography talent — this year across six categories: Landscape; People; Wildlife; Food; City life; and Portfolio. A global press and media campaign will present the winning images, which will also be featured on the National Geographic website.

The judging panel consisted of Lauren Atkinson-Smith, deputy art director, National Geographic Traveller (UK); David Barreda, community director, Diversify Photo; Hayley Benoit, portrait, commercial and editorial photographer; Renato Granieri, wildlife and travel photographer; Aisha Nazar, associate picture editor, National Geographic Traveller (UK); Celeste Noche, documentary and editorial photographer; Becky Redman, art director, National Geographic Traveller (UK); Andrew Reiner, food and travel photographer; Ben Rowe, picture editor, National Geographic Traveller (UK); and Daniella Zalcman, founder and executive director, Women Photograph.

To view the winners, visit: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/national-g...

National Geographic Traveller (UK) has a cover price of £5.95, is available via subscription and on newsstands, and is published 10 times a year. Find out more at nationalgeographic.com/travel

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Notes

National Geographic Traveller (UK) is published under licence by APL Media Limited, from National Geographic Partners LLC in Washington, DC. The travel and lifestyle magazine launched in December 2010 and is packed full of you-are-there photography, authentic travel experiences and inspiring narratives. nationalgeographic.com/travel

For more information about National Geographic, visit nationalgeographic.com, find us on the National Geographic app or visit us at Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest and TikTok.


CONTACT:

For editorial enquiries:
+44 (0) 20 7253 9906
editorial@natgeotraveller.co.uk

Pat Riddell, editor
+44 (0) 20 7253 9906
pat.riddell@natgeotraveller.co.uk

Maria Pieri, editorial director & chief operating officer
+44 (0) 20 7253 9906
maria.pieri@natgeotraveller.co.uk

Matthew Jackson, chief executive officer
+44 (0) 20 7253 9909
matthew.jackson@natgeotraveller.co.uk

Anthony Leyens, chairman and co-founder
+44 (0) 20 7253 9909
anthony.leyens@natgeotraveller.co.uk