Travel Puglia is putting a rather persuasive twist on the old idea that cinema can take you places. This spring, it may quite literally take one lucky Australian all the way to southern Italy.
The specialist tour operator has joined the 2026 ST. ALi Italian Film Festival as an official sponsor for the first time, offering festival audiences the chance to win a Puglia holiday for two valued at up to $18,000.
Presented by Palace, the festival describes itself as the world’s largest festival of Italian cinema. Its 2026 program is screening nationally across Adelaide, Canberra, Sydney, Byron Bay, Ballina, Melbourne, Ballarat, Brisbane and Perth, with dates varying by city from 16 September through to 18 October.
For Australian travellers with Italy permanently hovering near the top of the wish list, the partnership is a neat match. One side supplies the films, language, humour and cultural romance; the other offers the chance to swap the cinema seat for olive groves, whitewashed towns and a proper plate of something that did not come from the foyer.
“Cinema has an extraordinary ability to transport people and inspire them to experience a destination for themselves, and through this partnership we hope to introduce more Australians to Puglia’s beautiful towns, rich traditions and warm hospitality,” said Monique Fabris, co-founder of Travel Puglia.
Monique Fabris & Andrea Farina, Travel Puglia Co-Founders
An $18,000 ticket to southern Italy
The major prize centres on Travel Puglia’s 5 Senses of Puglia experience for two, valued at $13,000, together with up to $5,000 towards return flights from Australia.
According to the official competition page, the seven-night experience includes accommodation in a traditional masseria, daily breakfast, selected lunches and dinners, local wine with included meals, transport during the tour, bilingual hosts and expert local guides.
The itinerary goes well beyond sightseeing. Guests can expect olive-oil tasting, mozzarella making, local cooking experiences and guided visits through some of Puglia’s most beautiful towns. Travel Puglia’s tour information also highlights destinations including Lecce, Alberobello and Polignano a Mare, three names capable of making even a confirmed stay-at-home traveller reach for the passport.
“We are thrilled to give one festival-goer and their guest the opportunity to experience the region through the immersive, locally led style of travel that sits at the heart of everything we do,” Fabris said.
Puglia steps into Australia’s spotlight
The sponsorship arrives as Puglia continues to build its profile among Australians looking beyond Italy’s long-established tourism magnets.
The region’s appeal is not difficult to decode: historic towns, Adriatic coastline, traditional masserie, olive groves and a food culture that treats simplicity as an art form rather than a cost-cutting exercise.
For travel advisors, the promotion also reminds them that film, food and destination marketing increasingly work together. A traveller may first encounter southern Italy on screen, then start researching its towns and coastline, and finally walk into an agency asking how soon they can be there.
That is not merely cinematic inspiration. It is a potential booking journey.
The 2026 festival itself celebrates Italian language and culture through contemporary cinema, documentaries and comedy, alongside an Anna Magnani retrospective and special festival guests.
Competition details, conditions, and entry information are available on the official Travel Puglia competition page, while screening dates, films, and participating cinemas are listed in the festival’s official program.
For anyone who has ever left an Italian film craving pasta, sunshine and a one-way conversation with a travel advisor, this year’s festival comes with considerably higher stakes.
The credits may roll, but for one winner, the Italian story could be just beginning.
By: Anne Keam – © 2026.
Read Time: 3 minutes.
Author Bio:
Anne Keam’s story begins in Queensland, on a grain farm in the state’s wide western reaches, where the days were long and the lessons simple: work hard, look after your own, and don’t make a fuss. Those early years left their mark.
She later studied Arts at the University of Queensland, before doing what felt natural at the time, heading back home to the family property. But the world was calling. Anne packed a backpack and went looking, spending years on the road and finding herself most alive in South America. She wrote everything down along the way. Those notebooks, full of dust, colour, and curiosity, eventually became her blog, a quiet, personal record of seeing the world and learning from it.
