From today, entries are open for the 2022 international Travel Photographer of the Year competition (TPOTY), which is celebrating its 20th award this year.

The competition has a range of portfolio and single-image categories, plus an HD video category, to help to reflect the breadth and diversity of travel photography and filmmaking.

The awards are open to amateur and professional photographers of all ages and  from all countries around the world.

Djenne Mosque, Djenne, Mali - overall winner of TPOTY 2010. © Larry Louie/www.tpoty.com

Djenne Mosque, Djenne, Mali – overall winner of TPOTY 2010. © Larry Louie/www.tpoty.com

Major categories

There are four portfolio categories – Cultures, Deserts to Rainforests, Green Planet/Blue Planet and The Art of Monochrome.

The themes for the three single-image categories are Creative Travel, Mark of Mankind and Water.

There is also a single-image ‘Smart Shot’ category for images taken on a mobile phone or tablet.

The HD video category has the theme Sense of Place or Person.

There’s also the Young Travel Photographer of the Year category, which is open to photographers aged 18 and under.

The overall winner – the Travel Photographer of the Year 2022 – will be the entrant who submits the best eight images across the four portfolio categories.

Széchenyi Baths, built in 1913, is the most popular with the inhabitants of Budapest, Hungary, who come here to relax with friends - overall winner TPOTY 2018. © Stefano Pensotti/www.tpoty.com

Széchenyi Baths, built in 1913, is the most popular with the inhabitants of Budapest, Hungary, who come here to relax with friends – overall winner TPOTY 2018. © Stefano Pensotti/www.tpoty.com

Entry & prize details

Entry fees start at £10, but TPOTY is offering discounts for early entries, starting with 40% off until 31 May 2022.

Entry to Young Travel Photographer of the Year is free.

Submissions must be made online at www.tpoty.com and entries close on 25 October 2022.

TPOTY is sponsored by Fujifilm, Cultural Sanctuaries Foundation co-founder, Chris Rainier, Genesis Imaging, Photo Iconic, Plastic Sandwich, the Royal Photographic Society and Tonic magazine

The awards offer a range of prizes including cash bursaries, new Fujifilm cameras, magnificent prints, photo tuition, leather portfolio books or iFolios, membership of the Royal Photographic Society and copies of Tonic magazine.

An old woman from the Wayuu people in La Guajiara, the very north of Colombia, shows a face that has seen many years of hard work - winner, Monochromal category, TPOTY 2014. © Johnny Haglund/www.tpoty.com

An old woman from the Wayuu people in La Guajiara, north Colombia, shows a face that has seen many years of hard work – winner, Monochromal category, TPOTY 2014. © Johnny Haglund/www.tpoty.com

Judging panel

The awards are judged by an international panel of imaging experts, who give their time and expertise freely to judge the awards.

The judging panel includes the likes of photographer Eamonn McCabe and the former jockey, and now photographer, Richard Dunwoody.

This year TPOTY has three new judges: Chris Rainier (National Geographic explorer and photographer), Elia Locardi (travel photographer, digital imaging expert and educator) and Megan McCubbin (zoologist, conservationist, wildlife TV presenter and photographer).

Prospective entrants who are looking for inspiration can find it in the TPOTY exhibition of the 2021 winning images, which is showing at Granary Square, King’s Cross, London until 31 May 2022.

Yamal Peninsula, Russia - overall winner of TPOTY 2020. © Vladimir Alekseev/www.tpoty.com

Yamal Peninsula, Russia – overall winner of TPOTY 2020. © Vladimir Alekseev/www.tpoty.com

About TPOTY

Since TPOTY was founded in 2003 entries have been received from more than 140 countries, and more than 50 nationalities have been represented amongst the category winners.

Overall TPOTY winners have come from Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, Italy, Malaysia, The Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, UK and USA.

TPOTY has received entries from photographers in more than 140 countries and, to date, the oldest entrant has been 88-years-old and the youngest was just five-years-old.

For more information, please visit the TPOTY website.


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