A School of Travel Journalism (STJ) delegation is heading to Ovar, Portugal, to cover ART&TUR 2026, the 19th edition of the International Tourism Film Festival, taking place from 27 to 30 October. Led by the school’s director, Daniel Murillo, the delegation brings together STJ students and graduates who will produce editorial and audiovisual content from the festival and about the destination hosting it.
This is the first major on-the-ground result of the strategic alliance between STJ and the Centro de Portugal Film Commission, announced last May.
ART&TUR 2026: the tourism film festival comes to Ovar
ART&TUR – International Tourism Film Festival is one of the world’s leading tourism film festivals. It was born in Barcelos in 2008 and, since 2018, has been organised by the Centro de Portugal Film Commission as a travelling festival across Portugal’s Centro region, with previous editions in Leiria, Torres Vedras, Viseu, Aveiro, Ourém, Caldas da Rainha, Lousã and Fundão. In 2026 it arrives in Ovar, in the district of Aveiro, with the support of Turismo Centro de Portugal and Ovar City Council.
According to Turismo Centro de Portugal, this edition received 247 films from 45 countries, shot in 68 countries across five continents. Fifty-one of them make up the official selection, screened over eight sessions. The programme also includes round tables, masterclasses, workshops, conversations with directors and activities to discover the region.
Since 2008 the festival has been a member of CIFFT (International Committee of Tourism Film Festivals), the network that brings together the sector’s leading festivals across four continents and publishes the annual international ranking of the best tourism films. Through its partnership with TAP Air Portugal, award-winning films are also screened on board the airline’s flights.
Ovar, a destination made for film
The 2026 edition shines a light on Ovar’s identity: its Carnival, the Ria de Aveiro, fishing traditions, the famous pão de ló sponge cake and the tilework covering façades and churches that has earned the town its reputation as a “living museum of azulejos”. It is the perfect setting to practise what we teach: telling the story of a destination with rigour, a personal voice and strong images. Find out more about the town on Ovar City Council’s visitor page.
The STJ delegation at ART&TUR 2026
Led by Daniel Murillo Mir, Director of the School of Travel Journalism, the delegation includes:
- Rafael Perez
- Miguel Digón
- Alba Martí Florit
- Mónica Romero Picó
- Karen Mendez
- Laura Arnedo
- Fabiana Medina
- Catarina Machado
- Kenzy Samir
- Salomé Carreira
During their stay, the team will cover the festival from the inside: interviews with organisers, filmmakers and other participants, features, photography and audiovisual pieces about ART&TUR and Ovar. Daniel Murillo will also present the school and its work to festival attendees.
ART&FACTORY: films shot in the host destination
One of ART&TUR’s most distinctive formats is ART&FACTORY, a competition in which international teams shoot original films about the host town during the festival itself. STJ and the Centro de Portugal Film Commission are exploring how to collaborate on this project in future editions. Here is one of the films born from ART&FACTORY:
Travel journalism and tourism film, hand in hand
For STJ, ART&TUR is a natural fit: a meeting point between travel journalism and tourism filmmaking, two fields we increasingly bring together in our Master in Travel Journalism and our Travel Photography Online Course. Covering an international festival, with accreditation and in a real professional setting, is exactly the kind of experience we want to offer our students.
It is not the first time our community’s audiovisual work has reached a festival screen: this year an STJ student was selected at an international film festival in Padua, Italy. We also keep opening international paths for our students, such as Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs.
The alliance with the Centro de Portugal Film Commission also includes free festival submissions for STJ students and a 20% discount on STJ programmes for ART&TUR participants.
Follow our ART&TUR 2026 coverage
During the festival we will share the delegation’s coverage on our Instagram. All official information about the festival is available at tourfilm-festival.com.
