Vietnam among 16 nominees for world's leading culinary destination award

The other nominees are Australia, China, Colombia, France, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Peru, Spain, Thailand and the U.S.

The winner will be determined by votes from travelers around the world on the awards website, with the ceremony to be held Nov. 26 in Russia.

World Travel Awards, launched in 1993, acknowledges excellence in the travel and tourism industry, and are described as the "travel industry's equivalent of the Oscars."

Last year, Vietnam was voted Asia’s leading culinary destination.

Vietnamese cuisine has become better known in the world over the past few years, with international chefs and prestigious food magazines praising several national dishes.

Some of the dishes found on street corners here have made it to all corners of the world, like the banh mi, listed among the world's top 20 street foods by Fodors Travel, a U.S. travel site.

Vietnamese iced coffee with condensed milk has also been lauded by publications like NatGeo and The New York Times.