Portugal is set to host the World Tourism Film Awards for the first time, marking the 37th edition of the event. The northern city of Guimarães, sometimes called the birthplace of the nation with its UNESCO-listed medieval heritage, will welcome the awards on 4 and 5 December 2025, in the restored 1930s Jordão Theatre.
The prize ceremony and networking event is a collaboration between the International Committee of Tourism Film Festivals (CIFFT) and the Municipality of Guimarães, supported by Porto and the North Regional Tourism Authority. It will represent, according to Alexander V. Kammel, director of CIFFT, “the high point of a year entirely dedicated to excellence in audiovisual communication in tourism.” He described Guimarães and northern Portugal’s “rich heritage, natural diversity, and capacity for innovation” as “the ideal setting to celebrate the best productions of the year.”
Each annual prize-giving event attracts around 4,000 competing promotional videos from 50 countries, which are short-listed in the CIFFT Circuit. The short-listees progress to the World Tourism Film Awards, which recognises winners in five categories covering City Promotion, Region Promotion, and Tourism Products. Further awards will honour sustainability with the new GreenWorking prize as well as the Tourism Press sector.
Expected in town for the event, international travel industry stakeholders, creative and communications agencies, producers, and the globe’s media – all there to acknowledge the best in the world of audiovisual promotion for destinations and tourism products and services. Over the two days, attendees can also take part in networking sessions, expert panels, and cultural experiences.
Ricardo Araújo, Mayor of Guimarães, hailed the arrival of the World Tourism Film Awards in the city as “an opportunity of high cultural, economic, and strategic relevance for the municipality.” He said Guimarães “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.”
Meanwhile, Luís Pedro Martins, president of Turismo Porto e Norte, noted the importance of the event for the city’s MICE sector, which he praised for “attracting and holding the event, once again demonstrating our region’s capacity to attract more and more international events to our destination.”
Guimarães boasts a 10th-century castle and a UNESCO-recognised historic centre made up of attractive cobbled streets and plazas where a wealth of monuments has led the city, which was once the nascent capital of Portugal, to become inextricably linked with a sense of Portuguese identity. In 2026, that identity will take on another accolade as Guimarães becomes European Green Capital, for its sustainable urban development. Ahead of an active festival calendar including the Guimarães Craft Biennial, the Guimarães Jazz Festival, and the Festa de Nossa Senhora da Oliveira, the awards coming to town will shine a light on Guimarães’ many historical, cultural, and contemporary treasures.
