MUCH-LOVED attractions will go head to head as they battle it out for tourism glory.

Visit York's annual awards are set to take place on June 3 with everything from hotels to restaurants, pubs and museums vying for a range of gongs.

During the ceremony at the National Railway Museum, the spotlight will be placed on the city's star venues, who are today being urged to submit their entries for the Tourism Awards.

Kate McMullen, head of Visit York, said: "These awards, sponsored by York’s business sector, offer a superb opportunity for businesses to reward their staff, as well as showcasing the high standards being achieved in our world-class city.

"In a growing global tourism market, it’s vitally important we recognise and acknowledge excellence to ensure York and Yorkshire retain a competitive edge."

The 15 award categories for 2015 include Hotel of the Year; Self-catering of the Year; Caravan Park of the Year; Conference Venue of the Year and Outstanding Customer Service Award.

Martin Bridge, owner of The Whippet Inn, York, was an award winner at last year's ceremony and is encouraging traders to enter.

He said: "Scooping the Best Restaurant title at the 2014 Tourism Awards was a fantastic experience for us.

"As a newly-established business, not only did this win raise our profile but it also resulted in gaining lots of new customers.

"We all really enjoyed the ceremony too; we celebrated together and our team felt a superb sense of achievement."

This year the award voted for by the public will be Best Family Friendly Experience.

Any business can nominate itself and a shortlist will then be announced, as decided by an independent panel of judges A social media campaign on Twitter, @visityork, and Facebook, to encourage public voting will be launched in April, using the hashtag #FamilyYork.

Businesses can enter the Visit York Tourism Awards online at visityork.org/awards.

Winners have the opportunity to go forward to the regional White Rose Awards and national VisitEngland Awards for Excellence.