Portugal has conquered the Oscar of tourism films, awarded by the International Committee of Film Festivals and Tourism (CIFFT), with the film “You Only Love Once” by VidaMar Resort Hotel Algarve. The short film has been awarded the Best Tourism Film in the World with 47 points.
Shot mostly at VidaMar Resort Hotel Algarve, “You Only Love Once” portrays and atmosphere of serenity, comfort and well-being that is lived in this five star resort located in Praia dos Salgados. The film tells a story full of the magic of reunion, under the motto that we should return to the places where we were happy.
With the production of Lobby Films & Advertising, creative direction and direction by Telmo Martins and scriptwriter and actor Frederico Pombares, the film has won nine national and international awards since February in major film and tourism festivals, ending now with the award by CIFFT of the title of Best Film in the World, in the category of Tourism and Services.
Quality and creativity was noted by the 15 international juries in each of the festivals where it won, in a total of more than 100 professionals of 20 different nationalities, with high experience and reputation in Tourism, Tourism Promotion and Advertising, among more than 3500 competitors.
“We wanted to challenge the status quo of what is normally the promotion of a hotel and focus on the emotional side,” said Virgínia Saraiva, vice-president of the board of directors of the Portuguese group. “We wanted to show how we approach each guest individually in order to make their stay truly rewarding.”
CIFFT was created in 1989 to celebrate and honor what is best done in the area of tourism marketing and services. This award circuit, the Grand Prix CIFFT Circuit, brings together all the tourism film festivals of the four main continents into one, making this competition the most prestigious and recognized in the area.
“This award has an even more special dimension for the year so difficult that our sector is going through, showing that Portugal is a unique destination, with many valences, and that our products have a value that conquers the world,” said Saraiva. “This is very good news not only for us, but also for the Algarve and the whole hotel industry, and hopefully it will help in the resumption of all activity for the year 2021.”
Films produced and released in the last two years were in competition, splitting the awards into various categories or types of tourism such as cultural, gastronomic, sustainable, among others. The productions in competition were awarded throughout the year in the main Tourism Film Festivals worldwide. The three films with the highest scores in each of the themes are awarded in Vienna at the end of the year according to the score obtained.
In addition to valuing and recognizing the excellence and quality of projects and brands around the world, CIFFT’s mission is also to encourage and promote new destinations, promoting new products and services through the power of image.
