Welcome to Travel Photographer of the Year

The premier travel photography awards & your showcase to the world

TPOTY is the photo contest that's run by photographers for photographers. It's open to photographers from all countries; amateur or professional, beginner or expert, young or old, we have categories to suit you all! And it's judged by leading photography experts and offers fantastic prizes from our very supportive sponsors, including travel adventures, photographic equipment and paid commissions (including one for Condé Nast Traveller magazine) and photographic tuition. And 2012 sees the launch of the Cutty Sark Award, an outstanding prize for the overall winner of Travel Photographer of the Year, presented by Cutty Sark Blended Scotch Whisky.

2007 TPOTY winner, Cat Vinton,recently photographed His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Her photographs will be exhibited alongside her other images of Tibetan nomads and RGS archive pictures of Tibet at the TPOTY exhibition this summer. See Cat's TPOTY 2007 winning images

Image © Cat Vinton

The power of TPOTY working for photographers

It's not just about prizes – TPOTY is about getting amazing international exposure for your work. Past winners have seen their image sales soar along with interest in their photography. We're often approached by picture buyers wanting to source images and our galleries are amongst the most visited pages on the whole Travel Photographer of the Year website.

The best images feature in the beautiful TPOTY 'Journey' portfolio books as well as our exhibitions, featuring the winning images from the awards, at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG). This year's exhibition will run from 22nd June to 19th August, including during the Olympic Games in London.

How can I get the latest news from TPOTY?

We send regular e-newsletters to entrants and interested photographers and travellers. If you would like to receive these updates then please click here

How do I enter?

It's easy to enter Travel Photographer of the Year - we accept online image uploads or print entries. To find out more, click on the "competition" tab on the top menu bar to check out the four portfolio categories, the One Shot single image category, Young TPOTY (for photographers aged 18 years and under), the First Shot beginners’ award and New Talent, for students or those looking to kick-start a career in photography. There's something for everyone everyone - even (new for this year) an HD video category!

Click to see 2011 exhibition launch

TPOTY 2010 winner, Larry Louie (Canada) at the exhibition opening

On this site you can discover all the elements that make TPOTY so special. Check out the books, the Winners' Galleries, and learn about our exhibitions and our relationships with hugely respected organisations such as the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) and Young Photographers' Alliance. And if you want to take your photography to the next level, read about our photography courses and workshops.

And, of course, explore the categories and prizes for the 2012 Travel Photographer of the Year competition, and register to enter. Then you can have the fun of shooting to the category briefs, or deciding which of your images best fit the requirements. Get it right and you could feature in our 2012 Winners' Gallery!

Here to help

TPOTY has helped many travel photographers - not just the winners - to raise their profile, sell their work, get commissions or launch photographic careers. And we never forget that they are your images, which is why TPOTY features on the Artists Bill of Rights approved list.