World Travel Awards, “the Oscars of the travel industry”, has unveiled the regional nominees for its 2012 programme.

European organisations in contention include Lufthansa, Air Berlin, Kuoni, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Bulgari Hotels & Resorts and Europcar.

All will now go head to head at WTA’s Europe Gala Ceremony, which is set to take place at the new Conrad Algarve, Portugal on October 6th 2012.

The number of organisations self nominating in 2012 has increased by 17 per cent year-on-year, reflecting the growing awareness of the global coverage and commercial benefits that accompany WTA success.

Online voting has now opened and WTA is urging both the travel trade and the public to vote for their favourite travel brands.

World Travel Awards president Graham Cooke, said: “As the tension surrounding the regional ceremonies builds, we are looking forward to revealing the leading players and tracking their progress as they head to our Grand Final 2012 in December.

“In these times of global economic austerity, the ability to pinpoint quality travel products remains paramount to both business and consumer travellers.

“Winning a World Travel Award is a brand’s gold seal of travel excellence, which is why our 2012 programme has attracted a record number of nominees,” he added.

More than 5,000 organisations from 162 countries will compete in travel and tourism’s most influential awards programme.

More than 900 categories cover all aspects of the industry from airlines and cruise ships to ski resorts and new luxury hotels.

WTA’s 2012 Grand Tour includes regional legs in Dubai (Middle East Ceremony), Turks & Caicos (Caribbean & The Americas Ceremony), Nairobi, Kenya (Africa & Indian Ocean Ceremony), The Algarve, Portugal (Europe Ceremony) and Singapore (Asia & Australasia Ceremony).

The winners of these regional heats will progress to the Grand Final, which will take place at The Oberoi, Gurgaon, New Delhi, India in December.

Log on here to see the full list of nominees.

To vote for your favourite travel brand click here.