How to Nominate for a Travel Award

A travel award nomination is one of the highest-leverage moves a travel or hospitality brand can make in 2027. Whether you run a boutique hotel, an airline, a cruise line, a tour operator, a destination management company or a national tourism board, an independently judged travel award turns third-party credibility into a marketing asset you can use all year — on your website, in press coverage, in partner pitches and in front of every traveller comparing options before they book. This guide walks through exactly how to nominate for travel awards in 2027: what counts as a credible programme, which categories exist, how judging is scored, what packages cost, and the precise steps to submit a strong entry.

Unlike open online polls that reward whoever can mobilise the most votes, the programmes covered by Hospitality Awards — led by the International Travel Awards — are judged entirely on merit. That distinction shapes almost everything else in this guide, from how categories are structured to what judges look for in a winning submission.

What Is a Travel Award Nomination?

A travel award nomination is a formal entry submitted on behalf of a travel-sector organisation — a hotel, resort, airline, cruise line, travel agency, tour operator, DMC or tourism board — into a recognition programme that evaluates entrants against fixed, published criteria. A credible travel award nomination process has three defining features: an independent jury with genuine travel-industry expertise, transparent judging criteria published before entries close, and zero reliance on public voting. Programmes missing any of these three elements are usually pay-to-play directories dressed up as awards, carrying little weight with travellers, investors or industry partners once scrutinised.

Within the Hospitality Awards family, travel-sector nominations sit primarily under the International Travel Awards, spanning hotels, resorts, airlines, cruise operators, travel agencies, tour operators, DMCs and tourism boards — meaning your nomination is judged within a genuinely global, cross-sector travel context.

Why Nominate for a Travel Award in 2027

Travellers now routinely research third-party validation before committing to a booking, and a well-recognised travel award functions as exactly that kind of trust signal at scale. Brands that complete a travel award nomination and go on to win typically report three tangible outcomes: measurably higher conversion on booking channels and OTA listings once the award badge is visible; expanded media reach through press coverage and social amplification that would otherwise cost far more to buy directly; and a genuine lift in staff morale, since independently verified recognition reinforces the service standards teams already work hard to deliver. For ownership groups, agencies and tourism boards, a consistent track record of award recognition also strengthens partner negotiations, investor conversations and destination marketing campaigns.

Travel Award Categories to Consider

Travel award categories are organised by sector and market segment so entrants are judged against genuinely comparable peers, not lumped into a single shortlist. Typical categories span the full breadth of the travel industry.

• Leading Hotel or Resort — luxury, boutique, business and beach resort properties
• Leading Airline — full-service, regional and low-cost carriers
• Leading Cruise Line — ocean, river and expedition operators
• Leading Travel Agency — retail, corporate and luxury travel specialists
• Leading Tour Operator — inbound, outbound and specialist adventure operators
• Leading Destination Management Company (DMC) — ground-handling and experience specialists
• Leading Tourism Board — national and regional destination marketing organisations
• Sustainable Travel Award — organisations leading on environmental and community responsibility

A full, regularly updated list — including country and regional breakdowns across 200+ categories — is available on our Award Categories page, and we cover category selection in more depth in our dedicated Travel Award Categories guide.

How Travel Award Judging Works

Every nomination submitted through the Hospitality Awards family is scored against six weighted criteria, applied consistently regardless of sector, size or country. Understanding this scoring model before you write your entry is one of the highest-value steps in preparing a strong nomination.

Notice that "vote count" appears nowhere on that list — a useful, quick test to apply to any travel award you're evaluating. For the complete scoring methodology and jury structure, see our Judging Process page.

Who Can Submit a Travel Award Nomination

Both self-nominations and third-party nominations are accepted, so you don't need to wait to be nominated by someone else. In practice, travel award nominations are typically submitted by one of the following:

1. General managers, directors of sales & marketing or founders
2. Ownership groups, airline commercial teams or cruise line marketing departments
3. PR or marketing agencies acting on a client's behalf
4. Tourism boards nominating destinations, operators or partner organisations
5. Industry peers, travellers or media nominating a deserving organisation

There are no geographic restrictions — organisations from any of 150+ countries can enter, part of why the International Travel Awards now covers 200+ categories in its 10th edition.

How to Nominate for a Travel Award: Step by Step

Once you understand the categories and criteria above, the nomination process itself is straightforward and typically takes well under an hour.

1. Choose your category. Review the Award Categories page and select the category that most precisely matches your organisation's sector and segment.
2. Select your nomination package. Compare tiers on the Fee & Cost page — pricing scales with how many categories and programmes you want to enter.
3. Complete the nomination form. Submit your organisation's details, photography or video, and supporting evidence through the official nomination form.
4. Verification. The organising team confirms eligibility and validates the details you've submitted.
5. Independent jury review. Judges score your entry against the six weighted criteria outlined above.
6. Results and gala. Winners are notified privately before being celebrated publicly at the annual black-tie gala in Dubai.

Ready to start? Head to the Award Nomination page to nominate today.

7 seas holiday hotel — London

What to Include in a Strong Travel Award Nomination

Because every entry is scored against the same fixed criteria, the strongest travel award nominations are the ones that make the judges' job as easy as possible — specific, evidenced and clearly organised rather than promotional in tone.

• Lead with evidence, not adjectives. Replace claims like "world-class service" with satisfaction scores, repeat-booking rates or specific initiatives judges can independently verify.
• Match your category precisely. An airline entered in a hotel category will be scored against the wrong benchmark — choosing correctly materially improves your outcome.
• Provide current, high-quality photography or video. Judges form an initial impression from your submitted media; invest in recent assets rather than reusing outdated marketing material.
• Address sustainability directly. Even modest, well-documented initiatives — carbon offsetting, local sourcing, community partnerships — score better than vague language.
• Submit early. Categories can close ahead of the published deadline once capacity is reached.

How Much Does a Travel Award Nomination Cost?

Nomination fees for travel awards in 2027 typically start around USD 299 for a single category on a single programme, scaling up to USD 1,750 for packages that allow participation across multiple programmes and categories in the same year. It bears repeating clearly: a higher-priced nomination package never improves your odds of winning — it only expands how many categories you can enter and the visibility benefits that come with broader participation. Winning is always decided on jury-scored merit, never spend. Full current pricing, including optional Winner Package tiers for confirmed winners, is detailed on our Fee & Cost page.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Nominating

Most weak travel award nominations fail for avoidable reasons rather than any genuine shortfall in the organisation itself. The most frequent mistakes include submitting generic, templated copy that could describe any competitor; leaving the sustainability or innovation sections blank or superficial; entering a softer-looking category purely to chase a "less competitive" field; and assuming a higher-tier package will influence the jury's scoring, which it never does. Organisations that treat the nomination form with the rigour of a serious business proposal — specific, evidenced, well-organised — consistently outperform those that treat it as a quick formality.

Travel Awards vs. Other Recognition Programmes

Not every "travel award" carries equal weight, and it's worth understanding the distinction before committing budget and staff time to a nomination. Public-vote listicles and pay-to-play directories that guarantee a badge for a fee are common across the travel space, but they carry limited credibility because there is no independent evaluation behind the result. Genuine travel awards, by contrast, publish their judging criteria in advance, disclose openly that a jury — not the public — decides outcomes, and are transparent that fees fund participation rather than the result. Before nominating anywhere, ask three questions: Is the jury named and credentialed? Are the criteria published? Is there a public-vote component that could be gamed? Programmes under the Hospitality Awards umbrella answer "yes," "yes" and "no."

Timeline: From Nomination to Gala Night

Understanding the full timeline helps you plan internal resourcing and avoid last-minute submissions. After nominations close, the verification team typically spends one to two weeks confirming eligibility before entries move to the independent jury. Judging itself usually runs a further three to four weeks, after which winners are notified privately ahead of any public announcement — giving organisations time to prepare press materials before the news becomes public. The process culminates at the annual gala ceremony, held on 14 November 2027 from 5:00 PM to 11:00 PM at the Westin Marina Hotel in Dubai, UAE — a black-tie evening bringing together winners from across all four Hospitality Awards programmes. For organisations planning ahead, our Travel Awards 2027 guide covers key dates in more detail, and our Global Travel Awards guide breaks down how country and regional eligibility works for international entrants.

Featured Programme: International Travel Awards

Travel award nominations submitted through Hospitality Awards are judged under the International Travel Awards — the flagship travel and hospitality programme organised by Golden Tree Events LLC, now in its 10th edition, spanning 150+ countries and 200+ categories. You can review the programme's full remit here, or visit the official International Travel Awards website directly before submitting your nomination.

Frequently Asked Questions