THE ISLE of Wight is 'up against the big boys' as it heads into the 2018 Beautiful South Awards with three Island hotspots and Visit Isle of Wight on the shortlist.

Tourism South East has revealed the shortlist and Tom's Eco Lodge, East Afton House and Whitecliff Bay Holiday Park have all made the cut.

Tom's Eco Lodge is up for the prize in the Glamping Business category, while sister property East Afton House is nominated in the Self Catering Accommodation of the Year category after only a year of trading.

Whitecliff Bay Holiday Park has a shot at gold after being shortlisted for the Camping, Caravanning and Holiday Park or Village of the year.

Will Myles, managing director of Visit Isle of Wight, said: "It’s great to see the Isle of Wight recognised for its tourism in the Beautiful South Awards, the warm welcome they offer, the high quality of the accommodation and the service they provide.

"We hope that Tom’s Eco Lodge, East Afton Farm and Whitecliff Bay are all gold medal winners at the awards — there is no doubt in my mind that they deserve it."

Visit Isle of Wight has been shortlisted in the Visitor Information Service of the Year category.

Mr Myles said: "What a day to come to work and find out you’ve been shortlisted. It’s a little bit unexpected, but with the team that we’ve got, not totally."

He said their small, front facing team see over 20,000 people each year in the visitor centre and have a wealth of information regarding sustainable travel, where to go and places to see.

"These are the Tourism South East awards, so you're including places like Kent, Berkshire, Surrey and Sussex — and we've been shortlisted. That's amazing. We're playing up there with the serious big boys on this."

Chloe Baker, accommodation manager for Tom's Edo Lodge and East Afton Farmhouse said: "We are really chuffed to find ourselves amongst the finalists for the Beautiful South Awards, and hope we can again fly the flag for the Isle of Wight in bringing home some awards.

"We only started renting East Afton Farmhouse for holidays and weddings 12 months ago, so to get selected for the Self-Catering award this quickly is a massive compliment."

Away Resorts operations director, Greg Lashley, said: "We are delighted that Whitecliff Bay Holiday Park has been named as a finalist in the Beautiful South Awards.

"The Beautiful South Awards are highly regarded in the industry and it is a true honour to be one of the finalists. It means a lot to the team on the park and to the operator as a whole as it is recognition of all of the hard work we have put in across the year to make it the most desirable holiday park on the Isle of Wight."

The hopeful candidates will discover their winnings on December 5 at the awards ceremony in Brighton.