The tourist film was born in Italy. In 1962, in fact, Venice was held to the first National Festival of the Tourist Film staying in that center till 1970. Subsequently it has reached other Italian cities: Palermo (1971'72), Naples (1973), Lignano Sabbiadoro (1974), Como (1975), Olbia (1976), Fiuggi (1985). Afterwards, in 1983, was integrated with the First International Tourist Film Festival, that was born in Montecatini T. till 1992, to turn then in Varese (1996), and in oders city.

Inserted among the most greater European and International analogous festivals, it is recognized as one of the most qualified Festivals and qualifying in the tourist world as that of Karlovy Vary today (the ancient thermal center of the Cekia), and with which the Italian festival is twinned. It has seen, since his origins, a vast film share formed by an annual average of 50 nations of all the continents, with more than 300 tapes introduced in every edition and over 130 journalists accredited, Italians and foreigners.

A special Committee of Selection has always verified of it both the correspondence to the norms of contest both the qualitative level, to submit to the Jury and to introduce the best production to the public (in average 200 tapes). The Jury is composed from directors, experienced of tourism, journalists of the sector. Founder and promoter has been the journalist Antonio Conte, Honorary President of the ITCO, International Organism of Coordination among the Festivals of the Tourist Film to world level, as well as President of the European Federation of the Tourist Press. A vast public constituted by representations of the foreign and Italian tourism, directors and producers, from critical and journalists, from operating tourist, has always crowded the rooms of projection to assist to the early-morning, afternoon and evening shows in the period of carrying out of the Festival.
The occasion is offered by shows, round tables, presentation of technologies multimedia, Meetings with the Regions, Days of the Nations, presentations and tasting of the products and typical drinks in the various moments of the demonstration. And a whole multisectorial, directly and indirectly correlated to the tourist and cinema sector, that the Festival of the Tourist Film succeeds in attracting and to involve in various way, making some initiative in occasion of great interest and, from the great ghost multisectorial, of involvement for the possibilities of attainable contacts hardly in other way. It belongs to the International Committee of Coordination of the various Festivals of the Tourist Film of the whole world and to which stick, among the others, besides that Italian, that of Karlovy Vary (in the Czech Republic), the Estoril of Portugal, the Festival of the Festivals of the Tourist Film in Vienna, that of the Serbia, that of Rumania, Norway, that of New York, of Berlin as that Croatian of Shoveled, of Banja Luka, in Bosnia-Erzegovina, in Plock, ancient capital of Poland, end Bulgaria.
The attention of the European and international press has always given ample prominence to the initiative with hundreds of articles, services, communicated, picked annually in voluminous dossiers "Press Book" to testify the vast echo related to this initiative and to confirm the intents of the Festival, fully reached, having the purpose to stimulate, to develop and to valorise the production of cinema works, television, audiovisual and fit multimedia to illustrate the value and the function of the tourism in our time, under the cultural, social, economic, recreational, sporting, religious and sanitary profile, underlining the environmental resources, landscape, the infrastructures, the communications, the hospitality and the complementary fittings, over that the characteristic ecological environment, anthropological, ethnic, folkloristic, oenogastronomic and typical artisans of the various places and Countries, don't lead but the role and the qualitative characteristics of the aerial, maritime and railway vectors, of the various types of connected services to the tourism, of the tours operators, etc.
But the International Festival of the Tourist Film is an occasion of well vast course in its implications and involvements through the presence of about ten Delegations of Italian regions, Representations of the Foreign Tourism, Issuing Radio television of numerous Nations, Diplomatic Representatives and exponents of Government of various Countries, agents of Manufacturing Houses and technologies and cinema marketing, productive sectors, oenogastronomic and so on.