The presentation of the 2027 edition of the International Hospitality Film Festival brings together international experts at Lazareto Menorca to reflect on the future of tourism, communication, and tourism services.
Menorca, 16 June 2026. Lazareto Menorca hosted this Tuesday the presentation of Terres CHECK-IN 2027 – International Hospitality Film Festival, an initiative promoted by Terres Landscape and Travel Communication that aims to become an international reference space for analysing how audiovisual communication can contribute to building a more sustainable, authentic, and people-centred tourism model.
The event brought together tourism communication professionals, institutional representatives, and international experts to debate the challenges facing the tourism industry in a context shaped by technological transformation, growing demand for sustainability, and the need to build narratives capable of connecting with the expectations of today’s travellers.
During the opening of the event, Begoña Mercadal, manager of the Fundación Foment del Turisme, recalled that “millions of people today discover destinations through a screen before visiting them physically.”
In this regard, Santi Valldepérez, director of Terres CHECK-IN, stressed that “audiovisual is no longer a complementary tool. Audiovisual is the main language we use to explain tourism.”
Both Valldepérez and Mercadal defended the need to identify and give visibility to those territories, companies, and projects that are helping to define the tourism of the future: “The big debate in tourism is no longer how to attract visitors. The big debate is another one: what should the tourism of the future be like? A tourism capable of generating prosperity, but also preserving the territory; a tourism that creates opportunities, but also quality of life.”
In this sense, Begoña Mercadal highlighted Menorca’s tourism model:
“Above all, we are a community that understands that tourism must generate prosperity, well-being, and opportunities without giving up the preservation of what makes us unique.”
One of the central moments of the event was the lecture “Hospitality 360: communicating the tourism of the future,” led by Hugo Marcos, General Secretary of CIFFT (International Committee of Tourism Film Festivals), and Alberto Fernández, CEO of Normmal Agency.
During his intervention, Alberto Fernández defended the need to evolve traditional tourism promotion messages to adapt them to increasingly demanding and participatory travellers: “Tourism communication and hospitality communication of the future must stop selling perfect paradises and start explaining real experiences and lived moments, which is what travellers are truly looking for.”
Fernández also highlighted the growing importance of sustainability in building relevant tourism brands, especially in the premium segment. “Experiences that leave a positive impact and respect the territory are becoming the most sought-after by demanding travellers. The demanding traveller no longer wants to be a spectator; they want to participate.”
Hugo Marcos highlighted the relevance for the international tourism sector of specialised initiatives in the field of hospitality. “The fact that an international festival dedicated to hospitality is born in Menorca says a lot about the current moment in tourism. Projects like Terres CHECK-IN show that specialisation and authenticity are the way forward.”
The CIFFT representative stressed that tourism communication is undergoing a profound transformation, moving from showing places to conveying experiences.
“For decades, destinations competed by showcasing their landscapes and monuments. Today, travellers seek experiences, emotions, and meaning, and hospitality becomes the true protagonist.” He added: “We no longer communicate what a destination has, but what it feels like to experience it.”
Artificial intelligence also took part in the debate. Although inspiration, planning, and booking processes are changing rapidly, participants agreed that the ability to move people emotionally will remain the main asset of tourism communication. “Artificial intelligence is changing the way we get inspired, plan, and book a trip, but there is something it cannot automate: the desire to travel. That emotion will continue to be born from good stories.”
In this regard, Marcos highlighted the role of specialised festivals and high-quality audiovisual content as tools for building memorable tourism brands. “In a world of infinite content, authentic audiovisual work and the festivals that recognise it are more necessary than ever.”
The presentation also served to outline the main working lines of Terres CHECK-IN 2027, which will take place on 29 and 30 April 2027 and will be structured around three main axes: learning, experimentation, and recognition of audiovisual excellence linked to hospitality and tourism services.
During his intervention, Valldepérez highlighted the role that Menorca will play within this international proposal. “We did not come to Menorca because it is a beautiful setting. We came because Menorca has something much more valuable: it has credibility.”
The festival director noted that the island represents one of the strongest examples of how to combine tourism activity, territorial preservation, and authenticity, becoming a case study of international interest.
“While many territories incorporate sustainability into their discourse, Menorca has incorporated it into the way it understands its territory.”
The event concluded with a shared reflection on the role that destinations like Menorca can play in building new tourism benchmarks. “The territories that will leave a mark will be those capable of inspiring, teaching, and opening the way. That is why we believe Menorca is much more than the host of Terres CHECK-IN 2027. It is a place from which it is possible to show the world that another way of doing tourism is possible.”
About Terres CHECK-IN – International Hospitality Film Festival
Terres CHECK-IN is an international initiative promoted by Terres Landscape and Travel Communication that explores the role of hospitality and tourism services in creating memorable experiences through audiovisual media.
The project brings together professionals from tourism, hospitality, food service, communication, marketing, and audiovisual production to identify, recognise, and promote those stories, initiatives, and best practices that are helping to build the tourism of the future.
