World Travel Awards, ‘the Oscars of the travel industry’, is issuing a call to those organisations that aspire to be recognised as the best in their field, as voted by their fellow professionals, to participate in its 2013 programme.

Established in 1993, WTA is recognised globally as the highest accolade in travel and tourism, and serves to recognise, acknowledge and reward excellence of customer service, product development and business performance throughout the tourism industry.

This year, the 20th anniversary, the competition is set to be the fiercest yet as growing numbers of companies and destinations realise the marketing opportunities that a World Travel Award nomination offers.

Entry is now open for all regional categories – Africa, Asia, Australasia, Caribbean, Europe, Indian Ocean, Middle East, and North, South & Central America.

For further details, including entry forms and closing deadlines for nominations, visit the official website.

The 2013 nominees will be published here when voting opens for each region.

Votes can then be cast at the official website, which also includes a list of voting dates.

The WTA 2013 Grand Tour will include regional legs in the Maldives, Dubai (UAE), Antalya (Turkey), Kenya, Peru, Antigua and Singapore throughout the year.

The winners of these regional heats will progress to the Grand Final, which will take place in Las Vegas at the end of 2014.

The ceremonies are widely regarded as possibly the best networking opportunities in the travel industry, attended by government and industry leaders, luminaries, and international print and broadcast media.