The initiative, organised by the International Committee of Tourism Film Festivals (CIFFT) and the Municipality of Guimarães, with the support of the Porto and North Regional Tourism Authority, distinguishes the best audiovisual productions, reinforcing the role of video as a strategic tool in the promotion of tourist destinations, products and services.

The official awards ceremony will take place at the Jordão Theatre in Guimarães on December 5, bringing together tourism professionals, creative agencies, production companies, media from around the world, and national and international guests from countries such as Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Poland, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Greece, Morocco, among others, according to a report by Publituris.

Ricardo Araújo, Mayor of Guimarães, emphasises that holding the “World Tourism Film Awards” for the first time in Guimarães represents “an opportunity of high cultural, economic, and strategic relevance for the municipality.”

Furthermore, the Mayor acknowledges that Guimarães, recognised as the birthplace of Portuguese nationality and possessing a unique historical and symbolic heritage, “offers a prestigious setting for this prestigious international event, reinforcing the projection of the city, the region, and Portugal as excellent tourist and cultural destinations.”

Luís Pedro Martins, president of Turismo Porto e Norte, reinforces the fact that this festival is taking place in Portugal for the first time and “there’s nothing better than Porto e Norte and the city of Guimarães. This was a joint effort between the organization, the Guimarães City Council, and Turismo Porto e Norte, in attracting and holding the event, once again demonstrating our region’s capacity to attract more and more international events to our destination.”

From the event organization’s side, Alexander V. Kammel, director of CIFFT, emphasizes that the “World Tourism Film Awards” represent “the high point of a year entirely dedicated to excellence in audiovisual communication in tourism” and that the Northern region of Portugal is “recognized for its rich heritage, natural diversity, and capacity for innovation, and it was in Guimarães that we found the ideal setting to celebrate the best productions of the year.”

During the two-day event, participants will have networking sessions, panels with experts, and cultural experiences, in order to promote exchange between leaders in the areas of destination marketing, creative industries, and communication.

Every year, more than 4,000 promotional videos from around 50 countries participate in the CIFFT Circuit, the leading international competition dedicated to tourism audiovisual content.