How does YOUR holiday album compare? Stunning winning entries to the Travel Photographer of the Year awards
- The 2019 international Travel Photographer of the Year awards (TPOTY) is now accepting entries
- There are various categories, with themes including ‘culture’, ‘adventures’ and ‘street life’
- There is also a special award for young photographers and one for images shot on a smartphone or tablet
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Is your holiday album hiding an award-winning shot?
Well, it might be worth digging through your pictures as the 2019 international Travel Photographer of the Year awards (TPOTY) is now accepting entries and various eye-catching prizes – including a Northern Lights and whale watching trip – are up for grabs.
If you’re unsure if you’ve got what it takes, scroll down to see some of the jaw-dropping shots from the past 16 years the competition has been running, with a mesmerising shot of a bloody-faced bear in Svalbard and a snap of a cute meerkat in South Africa among the standout efforts.
There are various categories in this year’s contest, with themes including ‘culture’, ‘adventures’ and ‘street life’.
There is also a special award for young photographers and one for images shot on a smartphone or tablet.
Offering further inspiration, there are more than 150 photos from Travel Photographer of the Year 2018 on display next to City Hall in London until April 30.
A cute meerkat scratches its head and stops to pose for the camera as the sun rises over Little Karoo in South Africa
![After a delicious zebra lunch in a muddy pothole, a small lion cub plays hide-and-seek behind a tree in Serengeti, Tanzania](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04/12/15/12194144-6916067-image-a-44_1555077851886.jpg)
After a delicious zebra lunch in a muddy pothole, a small lion cub plays hide-and-seek behind a tree in Serengeti, Tanzania
![A polar bear looks at the camera with a bloody face after tackling a seal on the ice, 80 degrees north of Svalbard in the Arctic](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04/12/15/12194142-6916067-A_olar_bear_with_seal_kill_80_North_of_Svalbard_in_the_Arctic_-a-49_1555078613555.jpg)
A polar bear looks at the camera with a bloody face after tackling a seal on the ice, 80 degrees north of Svalbard in the Arctic
![Manhattan's iconic Flatiron Building is captured while being whipped by icy winds during a blizzard](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04/12/14/12194132-6916067-Credit_Michele_Palazzo_tpoty_com_Flatiron_Building_Manhattan_New-a-35_1555076795593.jpg)
Manhattan’s iconic Flatiron Building is captured while being whipped by icy winds during a blizzard
![A scene from the Rapa das Bestas festival in Galicia, Spain, where the manes of wild horses are cut in front of spectators](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04/12/14/12194134-6916067-Credit_Enrique_Lopez_Tapia_tpoty_com_Rapa_das_Bestas_Shearing_of-a-36_1555076892973.jpg)
A scene from the Rapa das Bestas festival in Galicia, Spain, where the manes of wild horses are cut in front of spectators
![A woman cracks a smile for the camera as she distributes chicken skewers in Burkina Faso. This is one of the area's most popular foods](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04/12/15/12194148-6916067-Credit_Marina_Spironetti_tpoty_com_Ouagadougou_Burkina_Faso_A_wo-a-45_1555078090720.jpg)
A woman cracks a smile for the camera as she distributes chicken skewers in Burkina Faso. This is one of the area’s most popular foods
![A lone Buddhist monk walks around the boundary wall of the West Kirby Marine Lake in the Wirral, UK](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04/12/15/12194152-6916067-Craig_Easton_tpoty_com_A_lone_Buddhist_monk_walks_around_the_bou-a-47_1555078463549.jpg)
A lone Buddhist monk walks around the boundary wall of the West Kirby Marine Lake in the Wirral, UK
![People from the Sichuan province in China pack into a swimming pool with colourful inflatables to hand](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04/12/15/12194136-6916067-People_from_the_Sichuan_province_in_China_pack_into_a_swimming_p-a-50_1555078678552.jpg)
People from the Sichuan province in China pack into a swimming pool with colourful inflatables to hand
![This stunning aerial shot shows camels and donkeys journeying through salt plains in Ethiopia's Danakil Depression](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04/12/15/12194158-6916067-_Joel_Santos_tpoty_com_Dromedary_and_donkey_caravan_Salt_Desert_-a-48_1555078496799.jpg)
This stunning aerial shot shows camels and donkeys journeying through salt plains in Ethiopia’s Danakil Depression
![A local baker sticks his hand into an oven on a street in the coastal province of Jiangsu in China](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04/12/14/12194146-6916067-_Zhu_Jingyi_tpoty_com_Jiangsu_China_Baked_roll_master_-a-34_1555076724358.jpg)
A local baker sticks his hand into an oven on a street in the coastal province of Jiangsu in China
![A man wearing a turban emerges from a cloud of colours during the festival of Holi in the sacred city of Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, northern India](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04/12/14/12194154-6916067-image-a-30_1555076289998.jpg)
A man wearing a turban emerges from a cloud of colours during the festival of Holi in the sacred city of Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, northern India
![A striking black-and-white shot of the Deadvlei white clay pan located near the famous salt pan of Sossusvlei, inside the Namib-Naukluft Park in Namibia](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04/12/15/12194138-6916067-Marsel_van_Oosten_tpoty_com_Deadvlei_Namib_Naukluft_National_Par-a-51_1555078689495.jpg)
A striking black-and-white shot of the Deadvlei white clay pan located near the famous salt pan of Sossusvlei, inside the Namib-Naukluft Park in Namibia