Winners honored at the Asia Destination Film Awards in Bangkok

From close to 1,000 submissions, ten winners were chosen by a panel of judges and the public to receive the Asia Destination Film Awards 2020 in the categories Tourism Boards, Travel Industry, Filmmakers, User-generated Content, and Sustainable Travel.

Closing the Asia Destination Film Forum on 30 January 2020, the Asia Destination Film Awards were presented to ten winners from close to 1,000 submissions in the categories Tourism Boards, Travel Industry, Filmmakers, User-generated Content, and Sustainable Travel. After shortlisting 200 semi-finalists and 34 finalists, a jury of filmmakers, tourism professionals, and media determined the best submissions in each category. Also, over 7,000 votes from the public decided the public choice awards.

Mr. Jens Thraenhart, Founder of the Asia Destination Film Forum and Executive Director of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office said that “the impact of visual storytelling, be it through feature films or online content, can be observed in decision making of tourists. Destinations can inspire travelers to explore new experiences through film and human impact stories. Movies, such as “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider”, “The Beach”, and “Lost in Thailand” are only some of the high impact examples. Other films, from destination videos to films by travel companies, bloggers, or regular travelers, also engage audiences and inspire them to travel, as well as drive sustainable tourism. We want to recognize this through our festival and awards and also put a focus on challenges filmmakers and destinations are facing and how they can achieve sustainability”.

The winners of the 2020 Asia Destination Film Awards are listed below.

The Asia Destination Film Awards are part of the Asia Destination Film Forum, which took part in Bangkok on 30 January 2020. They included live public voting as well as acrobatic performances and Mongolian wrestlers, supported by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism Mongolia, Asset World Corporation, ThaiBev, HMD Asia, Cambodian Living Arts, and MIAT Mongolian Airlines. Some of the winning films of the Asia Destination Film Awards will be highlighted during the 4th Mini Mekong Tourism Forum at ITB Berlin in Germany on March 4th, 2020, at 11 am, as well as during the 2020 Mekong Tourism Forum in Bagan, Myanmar on April 28-29.

The 2021 edition of the awards will be open for submissions by tourism boards, travel companies, filmmakers, students, and travelers from 15 February 2020 to 15 October 2020. The 3rd Asia Destination Film Forum is scheduled to take place on 25 February 2021, and bids for destination partner and host destination are being accepted.

More information about the awards and winners is available on https://www.destinationfilmforum.com/asia-destination-film-awards/.

Winners:

Award	Winner	Film
Tourism Board Category
Winner	Tourism Malaysia	“AMAZING”
Runner-up	Ministry of Tourism, Government of India	“Incredible India – Director’s Cut – Travel|CNN”
Winner Public Choice	Singapore Tourism Board	“Where Passion is Made Possible”
Runner-up Public Choice	Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia	“Komodo National Park and Alor: The Miracle of Living”
Travel Industry Category
Winner	Shinta Mani Wild, Cambodia	“Shinta Mani Wild”
Runner-up	Rosewood Luang Prabang, Laos	“Rosewood Luang Prabang”
Winner Public Choice	Vietnam Airlines	“Vietnam Airlines Safety Video”
Runner-up Public Choice	Cardamom Tented Camp, Cambodia	“Cardmom Tented Camp”
Filmmakers Category
Winner	GLP Films	“Raja Ampat: The Last Paradise” Indonesia
Runner-up	Ms. Sarah Lam	“Becoming Thai Chinese”, Thailand
Winner Public Choice	GlobalGaz and Manana Films	“Hit the Road: India”
Runner-up Public Choice	Mr. Abhimanyu Kukreja	“Rockumentary Evolution of Indian Rock”
User-generated Content Category
Winner	Mr. Georgy Tarasov	“The Road Story Vietnam”
Runner-up	Mr. Sebastian Linde	“Loving Lanka”, Sri Lanka
Winner Public Choice	Mr. Vincent Urban	“In Japan – 2015”
Runner-up Public Choice	Mr. Leonardo Dalessandri	“Watchtower of Turkey”
Sustainable Tourism Category
Winner	Bureau of Tourism Palau	“The Giant – Compulsory Inflight Movie (Palau Pledge)”
Runner-up	Department of Tourism Philippines	“Save Our Spots | Small Acts, Big Change”
Winner Public Choice	Travel and Tourism Foundation/Travelindex	“A Day In a Buddhist Temple in Luang Prabang Laos”
Runner-up Public Choice	Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia	“Sustainable Tourism”