The international jury for Open Passport 2025 is presented: 15 voices from around the world to select the travel communicators of the year

A few weeks ahead of the Open Passport 2025 ceremony, the World Travel Journalism Organization (WTJO) is honored to present the international jury that will evaluate the applications and select the winners of the most important awards in travel journalism globally.

This distinguished committee is made up of 15 professionals with outstanding careers from various regions of the world. They are all leaders in communication, tourism, journalistic ethics, and cultural promotion. Their mission will be to deliberate on the submitted nominations based on criteria of excellence, innovation, positive impact, and commitment to the values of WTJO.

The Open Passport 2025 jury is composed of:

Miguel Ledhesma (Argentina) Luis Polo (Panama) Kevin Casanova (Colombia) Eliane de Souza (Brazil) Nehir Önen (Turkey) Gaurav Gupta (India) Guillermo Aguilar (Norway) Michael Sulentic (Croatia) Sebastián Carrillo (United States) Sarha Hernández (Dominican Republic) Claudia Peralta (Mexico) Andrés Álvarez (Chile) Dais León (Venezuela) Miguel Chávez (Peru) Miriam Martínez (Spain)

This plural and diverse group not only guarantees a broad and inclusive perspective on current practices in travel journalism, but also symbolizes the truly international nature of Open Passport, an initiative that unites continents through the words that travel.

The award ceremony will take place on August 26, 2025, in San Juan de Pasto, Colombia, as part of a territorial tour through Nariño and binational zones that will extend until September 7, with the presence of journalists and communicators from 27 countries.  

With the participation of this jury, Open Passport 2025 reaffirms its commitment to quality, ethics, and the visibility of those who, through communication, contribute to a more humane, inclusive, and transformative tourism.