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The 10th International Tourism Film Festival Awards were handed out in Ankara, with Türkiye's Halil Bekar receiving an award in the Travel Films category for his film "One Week in Kyrgyzstan."
The awards ceremony was held at CSO Ada Ankara's Ziraat Bankasi Main Hall, following a festival hosted by Ankara Haci Bayram Veli University Faculty of Communication.
The event was supported by the Cinema Directorate General of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency, known as TGA, the country's official tourism promotion body.
The festival brought together directors, producers and artists, including figures associated with the Oscars, Emmys and Cannes.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Can Saracoglu, president of the World Film Festivals Committee, said he was proud to be in Ankara after a 10-year journey.
Saracoglu said the festival was set up to accurately promote Turkish culture and tourism internationally. He recalled that the festival began in Istanbul, moved on to Cappadocia with its mystical atmosphere, then continued in Gaziantep, Antalya and Ephesus before arriving this year in Ankara, which he described as the 2026 Tourism Capital of the Turkic World.
He thanked the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and all other stakeholders supporting the event, saying the festival was working to present Ankara, Türkiye's historical and cultural tourism potential, its art and tourism to the world.
"We see the results of this success today in the comments, impressions and smiles of nearly 60 guests from 35 different countries," Saracoglu said, adding that the festival's journey would continue in other major destinations across the country.
Awards were then presented to films that stood out across several tourism-related categories.
Other winners included "Fun Starts With Us," directed by Tomasz Walczak from Poland, in the "Tourism Services" category, and "When The Mountains Turn Gold in Colorado," directed by Jaswant Dev Shrestha from the United States, in the TV Productions category.
In the Tourism Companies category, "Safety Guidelines of Azerbaijan Airlines," directed by Fuad Guliyev from Azerbaijan, received an award. Italy's Fabio Reitano won in the Tourism Destinations category with "Cappadoccia."
Portugal was also represented among the winners, with Flavio Cruz's "The Legacy in Every Gesture" receiving an award in the Cultural Tourism category, while Paulo Cunha's "It's Where You Want Be" was honored in the Tourism Regional category.
Andre Barros' "Ways To Say" received the Special Jury Award.
Saracoglu also said the organization would continue promoting Turkish culture and tourism at the World Film Festivals Congress, which is planned to be held in Rome in October.
At the end of the program, Saracoglu thanked participants from the Turkic world and presented an honorary award on behalf of the organization to Kazakh actress Samal Yeslyamova, who has received the Cannes Film Festival's Best Actress award.
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