From Montage to Masterpiece: What the World Tourism Film Awards Teach Us About Travel Video Production

Dec 11

For most destination marketers and resort owners, the goal is consistent: fill the calendar. But the "Holy Grail" of hospitality marketing isn't just a booked room; it’s brand affinity. It’s the kind of loyalty where guests don't just visit; they believe in your destination.

This week, the 37th World Tourism Film Awards (CIFFT) in Guimarães, Portugal, proved exactly how that affinity is built.

Thirty-two films from 17 countries took home the top honors, but the real winner wasn't a specific country—it was a specific style of travel video production. The era of the "montage video" is over.

The Problem: Your "Pretty" Video is Invisible

Most tourism boards and luxury lodges send out videos that are essentially moving brochures. A drone shot of a beach, a slow-motion clinking of wine glasses, a couple smiling at a sunset. To a leisure traveler, this looks nice. But to a high-value guest deciding where to spend their limited time and significant budget, it looks like "just another nice place."

It lacks a hook. It lacks a soul.

To win the booking in 2025, you need to change the visual conversation. You need to stop selling "scenery" and start selling "narrative." At Summit Cut Media, we see this shift happening in real-time: the brands winning the market are the ones telling stories, not just showing amenities.

The 2025 Creative Mindset: From "Promotion" to "Cinema"

The winners in Guimarães—from Switzerland to Colombia—didn't just show up with high-resolution cameras. They showed up with scripts.

Switzerland Tourism secured a first-place win for the third year in a row not because their mountains are taller, but because their story was better. Their film, Falling for Autumn (starring Roger Federer and Mads Mikkelsen), wasn't a travel ad; it was a short film.

Your marketing needs to make that same shift. Summit Cut Media helps hospitality brands pivot from simply "capturing content" to "crafting cinema." We believe that if you want to stop the scroll, you have to start with a story.

The Visual Shift: 3 Pillars of Award-Winning Storytelling

If you want your property to compete with the world's best, here is the blueprint we apply to our video production strategy:

1. Sell "Character," Not Just "Landscape"

Instead of just panning over a vineyard or a mountain range, the winners in Guimarães focused on the people within those spaces.

The Lesson: Portugal’s Unwritten Recipe didn't just show food; it showed the culinary heritage and the hands that make it.
The Summit Cut Approach: We don't just film your lodge’s kitchen. We film the focus in your chef’s eyes during prep. We don't just film the trail; we film the guide’s passion as they explain the local ecology.

2. Sell "Culture," Not Just "Comfort"

Luxury is everywhere. Authenticity is rare. The winner for Region Promotion, Colombia’s Discover La Guajira, didn't rely on thread counts or pool size. It relied on cultural depth.

The Lesson: Travelers are desperate to feel something real.
The Summit Cut Approach: We stop filming empty lobbies. We film the interactions that make your property unique—the local art on the walls, the history of the land, the texture of the experience that can’t be replicated elsewhere.

3. Sell "Values," Not Just "Views"

This year’s awards put a heavy emphasis on sustainability, with the "GreenWorking Awards" highlighting productions like Ecuador’s Mashpi Lodge.

The Lesson: Your environmental stewardship isn't a footnote; it's a primary narrative hook for the modern traveler.
The Summit Cut Approach: We don't hide the eco-initiatives; we make them cinematic. A shot of a guest planting a tree or a behind-the-scenes look at your sustainable sourcing tells a story of care that resonates deeply with high-ticket buyers.

The "Prestige" Advantage

When you commission a narrative-led film, you aren't just getting a file for Instagram. You are arming your marketing team with a PR asset.

Imagine your Marketing Director pitching a partnership or a high-end travel agent. Instead of sending a link to a generic website, they send a link to a cinematic short film produced by Summit Cut Media titled "The Spirit of the Place." It visualizes exactly what the agent is selling: an unforgettable emotional experience.

That is how you move a traveler from "browsing" to "booking."