India’s rapid ascent to tourism stardom has been acknowleged by the record number of local brands nominated in this year’s World Travel Awards.

The World Travel Awards Asia & Australasia Ceremony takes place in October, with India’s rising stars of travel and tourism featuring heavily in the list of nominees.

Brands in with a chance of picking up the highest accolade in travel and tourism include The Indian Maharaja for “Asia’s Leading Luxury Train”, and the Taj Lake Palace for “Asia’s Leading Resort”. India itself has also been nominated for “Asia’s Leading Destination” and “Asia’s Leading Sports Tourism Destination”

Within India, the likes of The Oberoi Rajvilas and the Taj Krishna will go head to head in a bid to the coveted “India’s Leading Hotel” award.

Described as the ultimate achievement for any travel company, not just in Asia but globally, the World Travel Awards is known as the Oscars of the travel industry.

Winners of the Asia & Australasia Ceremony will be announced at the The Claridges Surajkund, Delhi, on Sunday 17 October. A first of its kind luxury business hotel, the property has committed to sustainable tourism and has been nominated for both ‘India’s Leading Luxury Hotel’ and India’s ‘Leading Green Hotel’ in this years World Travel Awards.

Regional winners will go forward the World Travel Awards 2010 Grand Final in London, when they will be up against some of the finest travel operators in the world.

World Travel Awards, now in its 17th year, is a major driver of supreme quality standards within the global travel and tourism industry, encouraging excellence in everything from product innovation, creativity and staff training to customer service and overall performance

The Asian nominees are among 5, 000 nominated companies, spread across more than 1,000 categories, including airlines, cruise companies, destinations, resorts and hotels in 162 countries.

Graham E. Cooke, Founder and President, World Travel Awards, said: “We have been overwhelmed with the tremendous response to self nominations this year, which have grown a phenomenal 50 per cent on 2009.”

“The quality and quantity of nominees within the Indian categories has surpassed all previous years. With the largest number of dedicated country categories within the Asia Awards, Indian is undoubtedly a very strong competitor for the 2010 awards.”

“The surge in nominations, in the face of a global recession, demonstrates the vital role that World Travel Awards now plays within the travel industry. More multinational companies than ever, ranging from Etihad Airways and TAP Portugal to InterContinental Hotels, Universal Studios and Disney, are spearheading their global marketing campaigns with their award victories,” he added.

To vote online visit: www.worldtravelawards.com/vote