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Film and tourism: the imagined place and the place of the imagined
Rafael Pires Basáñez Hadyn Ingram
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To cite this document:
Rafael Pires Basáñez Hadyn Ingram, (2013),"Film and tourism: the imagined place and the place of the imagined",
Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, Vol. 5 Iss 1 pp. 39 - 54
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/17554211311292439
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Abstract
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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider how film can induce image, both individually and
collectively. In particular, the psychological drivers of film are explored and how these may impact on
tourism visitation. The impacts of film and cinema are explored, as is the relationship between
tourists’ motivation and purchase behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach – The authors review the limited literature on the subject, seeking
commonalities and resonances between film and tourism. A focus group is used to develop a
perceptual map with which to better understand the phenomenon and a questionnaire was conducted
to research attitudes towards film and propensity towards film-induced behaviour.
Findings – The paper suggests that there are commonalities between film and tourism and that film
can evoke powerful and long-lasting images with the viewer, thus creating marketing opportunities for
destination marketing organisations (DMOs).
Practical implications – With greater understanding of the nature and power of filmic image, it is
hoped that tourism DMOs may develop more effective strategies for attracting visitors to destinations.
Originality/value – Research in this topic is very limited and, as far as the authors are aware, there
is nothing which adopts an in-depth approach on the nature and application of film-induced tourism.
Keywords Film, Tourism, Marketing, Consumer behaviour, Film-induced tourism,
Destination marketing, Destination marketing organizations
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Tourism behaviour is affected by myriad influences, some of which are more obvious
than others. Goeldner and Ritchie (2009) suggest that tourism is an interdisciplinary
area that relates to sociology, leisure, sports, economy, technology and many others.
This study aims at providing a further understanding of tourism and factors with
which it maintains continually-enriching interactions, in this case, film and cinema.
In contemporary society, access to films is becoming increasingly easier, either by
going to the cinema, visiting a video-rental store, or even watching online. Cinema
brings to people what they want in their lives: love, emotion, extravagance, adventure,
seduction, even eroticism. It is possible to temporarily lose oneself for a few hours and
to be drawn into a fictional story. As with tourism, people need to put aside their
routines, at least for a period to allow them to relax and restructure (Krippendorf, 1987). Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism
Themes
It is possible to categorise films that affect tourism into four types: Vol. 5 No. 1, 2013
pp. 39-54
(1) animated films; q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1755-4217
(2) documentaries; DOI 10.1108/17554211311292439
WHATT (3) motion-pictures made from original stories; and
5,1 (4) films that are based on novels, people or historical events.
(1) Methodology.
(2) Limitations.
(3) Definitions.
(4) Literature review.
(5) Research findings and analysis.
(6) Summary of results.
(7) Conclusions.
(8) Recommendations.
(9) Discussion.
(10) Further research.
1. Methodology
The study used sequential mixed methods approach (Morse and Niehaus, 2009) to
provide an increasing depth of understanding to this under-researched phenomenon.
Initially, a focus group provided an exploratory insight into attitudes and behaviours
towards decision making, image perception and images created by films and promotional
tools used to induce tourism. The outcome of this focus group was a perceptual map
aimed at increasing understanding of the phenomenon. Subsequently, a face-to-face
survey questionnaire addressed the connection between film spectator and destination
shown on film, the different motivations for film tourism and the relation between the
tourism cinema, image, motivation, decision-making and marketing communication tools.
In this way, the methodology used causal research (Wilson, 2006) to provide
inferential evidence and descriptive research (Veal, 2011) to develop further
explanatory description of comparisons that the causal cannot answer.
2. Limitations
Because this area of study is still in its infancy, there is not enough appropriate
material to cast definitive light on the subject. However, this study collected
information from many sources different in order to create an original, exploratory
study of this phenomenon, but at the same time being careful not to postulate
unrealistic theory.
3. Definitions Film and tourism
According to Beeton (2005, p. 11) film-induced tourism can be defined as the “visitation
to sites where movies and TV programmes have been filmed as well as to tours to
production studios, including film-related theme parks”. There is a considerable
amount of dedicated study confirming that films generate demand for tourism (Beeton,
2005; Jones and Smith, 2005; Boland and Williams, 2008; Tzanelli, 2007; Roesch, 2009;
O’Connor and Macionis, 2011; and Hudson et al., 2011) mostly mentioning the Lord of 41
the Rings film trilogy (2001-2003), filmed in New Zealand, and that still manages to
attract visitors to the country. However no studies have focused on the psychological
relationship between film and its spectators and their motivations to travel, thus
impacting on their decision-making. This work also aims at answering some of these
unanswered questions.
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4. Literature review
The literature review is structured in the following way:
.
film and cinema: provides the background to the medium;
.
film and tourism: looks at the relationship between the two; and
.
tourism promotion through film: considers how tourism might be marketed
through film.
Demand for Inns and Lengthy educational “First family hotel” in Steam transport origins Development of roads Invention
hospitality taverns trips First travel guides London Grand Tour Thomas Cook 1st excursion Invention of automobiles of planes
Roman Circa Early
6th century Empire Renaissance 1650 1700s Early 1800 Late 1800s 1900
cinema
History of tourism and
43
Table I.
WHATT Roecklein (2004, pp. 2-3) places image in the discipline of psychology and defines it as
5,1 “mental idea that is taken as being observed by the ’eye of the mind’. This study
defines film tourism image as “the mental and visual idea that is originated from the
collection of symbols, signs, beliefs, ideas and impressions that films projects from
places”.
Aumont (1997, p. 54) proposes three elements of image:
44 (1) symbolic image: images as symbols, representing religious idols, brand logos or
public images of attractions;
(2) epistemic image: road maps, postcards, travel films, portraits of landscape; they
are all images providing different interpretations to the perceiver; and
(3) aesthetic image: which produce sensations on the reader; for example the
architecture of buildings, monuments, parks and piazzas.
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Castrogiovanni and Gastal (1999) contend that the creation of an image is the result of
an interactive process between the observer and the observed. Although personally
perceived, they suggest that there is a public image – a trademark – an image that is
seen by everyone in the same way. These images are often packaged as consumer
products or brands. This means that important tourist destinations, such as the statue
of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Big Ben in London or the Coliseum in Rome
are depicted in t-shirts, postcards at souvenir shops or background scenes in films.
This non-verbal reading is a photographic reading, generated by the mass media
and especially through the electronic media where speed dictates the pace of reading.
Local images reproduced and transmitted in films “promote a ‘blurring of borders
between art and everyday life” (Featherstone, 2007, p. 22), thus creating a pseudo
reality. This pseudo reality created by the films is exploited by various media through
marketing and its promotional artifices used in persuasion in order to influence the
consumption of products, for example, a holiday.
Often, satisfaction arises from expectation of seeking a pleasure, which lies in
imagination. People seek to experience real life pleasant dramas that have once already
experienced in their imagination.
Cinema has the power to store and transmit a large amount of information
(McLuhan, 1964). This information, the stories, is lodged in human conscious,
constructing an imagined repository of perceptions, which the English fiction writer
Julian Barnes calls a “myth kitty”.
Avellar and Imagem (1982) argues that this information is retained in the mind for
some unknown reason, a feeling that awakens in people, sometimes without being
aware of it. Thus, influencing people’s lives and the choices they make for themselves.
Thus, the pseudo reality of film can evoke powerful and lasting images.
Ruschmann (2001) suggests that motion pictures are very important for the
exposure of tourism products, because the image may lead to an interest in knowing
personally what was seen on the screen.
In summary, the literature concludes that there are similarities between film and
tourism, as both are:
.
developed and proliferated at the middle and end of the nineteenth century;
.
social phenomena, shared with others;
.
experiential;
.
powerful and long-lasting; Film and tourism
.
desirable and sought-after;
.
dream-like, taking the participant outside of themselves;
. opportunities for adventures and freedom from the quotidian humdrum; and
.
able to create non-verbal images.
45
The appropriate use of image and imagery is important in tourism promotion.
According to Featherstone (2007) today’s culture uses images, signs and symbolic
goods to evoke dreams, wishes and fantasies that suggest authentic romance and
emotional fulfilment of the self, in a narcissistic and egotistical way. People want to
indulge their needs generated by the stress caused by the world, and that almost
obliges the individual to be always happy and for this to happen, he or she has to
consume.
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46
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Figure 1.
Perceptual map
.
Quadrant A: the nature of image and how decision-making can be influenced by
scenery, culture and the destination.
.
Quadrant B: how decision-making might be triggered by different
leisure-orientated motivations.
.
Quadrant C: types of promotional tools, which can evoke image.
.
Quadrant D: ways in which promotional tools might engage with the viewer.
The perceptual map created can help DMOs to understand and identify some of the
factors relevant to a successful development of film tourism promotion strategies.
5.2.1 Frequency of film watching. Of the 200 people interviewed, only 7 (3.5 per cent)
responded that they do not watch films. As shown in Figure 2, the majority (36 per
cent) of them watch films “more than once a week”, while 20 per cent who watch films
“once a month” and 18 per cent watch “five times or more a month”.
5.2.2 Importance of films to tourism. Respondents were asked to respond to three
statements:
Film and tourism
47
Figure 2.
Frequency of watching
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films
The majority of the respondents (over 100 people) simply agreed with the statements,
as shown in Figure 3. The third statement is the one that raised mostly disagreements
in comparison to the other statements; perhaps because the adverb “very” in the
sentence seemed too strong, however, they agreed that films indeed are important for
the development of tourism.
Figure 3.
Statement agreements
WHATT 5.2.3 Consumer behaviour intentions. As seen in Figure 4, 59 per cent of the
5,1 respondents had not travelled to a place where it served as location for a film. The data
suggest that women would be more likely to visit a filmed location than men. However,
on a research that was undertaken by Visit Britain (2007) (online), shows “that 40 per
cent of potential visitors would be ’very likely’ to visit places from films”. This research
underpins other studies by VisitBritain by showing that 41 per cent of the respondents
48 have already visited a location that served as film location. Respondents were also
asked which particular film location they would most like to visit, and the most
popular choices were New York and the USA.
5.2.4 Motivation to visit. Respondents were asked which of seven categories, most
motivated them to visit a filmed destination. The results of this research on motivation
underpins what has been highlighted by McLuhan (1964) that motion pictures are a
great source of information, teaching people new customs, traditions and symbols. As
shown in Figure 5, respondents want to experience the culture of those locations seen
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on films, with culture being the main motivation factor chosen by respondents. This
Figure 4.
Main film locations to visit
Figure 5.
Motivation for
film-induced travel
was followed by fun and entertainment, change of activity and geographical location Film and tourism
and psychological and physical factors which complements each other; people seek
evasion in order to “recharge their batteries” and give reason to their lives.
5.2.5 Describing destinations. Participants were asked to use adjectives to describe a
destination for the most recent film they had watched. The responses underpin the
contention that the scenery is vital to the connection between the film spectator and the
decision to choose a destination to travel. When the respondents were asked to provide 49
adjectives to describe the perceived image that they hold of a place seen in a film, most
adjectives provided are related to the natural beauty of the scenery, such as “scenic”,
“beautiful”, “nice”, “interesting”, “peaceful” and “relaxed”. Historic and cultural
adjectives can therefore be linked to cultural motivators.
5.2.6 Promotional tools. When asked about the importance of brochures, leaflets and
advertising in deciding on a holiday, 66 per cent of the respondents believed that they
are important or very important.
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Figure 6 shows that a large majority of the respondents (80 per cent) did not
remember seeing a film-induced tourism promotional tool. The reasons for that could
be that there are not many such promotional tools being made. Perhaps DMOs are not
fully aware of the importance of films in attracting tourists or maybe because the
respondents were not looking for those sort of brochures or leaflets.
6. Summary of results
The data reinforce the view that watching films is still a popular leisure activity, with
high participation rates. Most respondents agree that films are important to tourism
and destination development. However, this image perception does not necessarily lead
to visiting a filmed destination, with women more likely to do this than men. If they are
motivated to visit a filmed destination, the most popular reason was because of the
culture, and this suggests that is because of “difference” from their own environment.
Respondents also liked scenery and it may be concluded that the beauty of landscape
promotes positive image. A large majority of the sample believed that promotional
tools are important, but did not remember seeing a film-induced tourism promotional
tool, perhaps because they were not actively looking for them.
Figure 6.
Promotional tools – level
of importance
WHATT 7. Conclusion
5,1 This paper has explored the scantily-researched relationship between tourism and
film. The literature recognises that both film and tourism share similarities of nature
and are desirable, inspirational and powerful phenomena, which can create non-verbal
images. Thus, imagery can in tourism promotion to evoke dreams and the emotional
fulfilment of the self. The study has developed a perceptual map to show how image
50 and motivation links with decision-making and promotional tools.
The overwhelming majority (96.5 per cent) of the sampled population said that they
watched films. Most agreed that films were very important to the development of
tourism, however 59 per cent had not travelled to a filmed location. Scenery and
landscape seem to evoke the most powerful images and two-thirds believed that
promotional tools are important or very important. To experience new cultures was
seen as the strongest motivation to travel.
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8. Recommendations
Gunn (1972) proposes a seven-step process of image involvement in tourism, which can
be adapted to show the process of film-induced tourism.
As shown in Figure 7, film induced tourism can follow these seven stages:
(1) Accumulation: a watched film creates images, which are compared with
previous images of the same location.
(2) Modification: the actors, landscape and the story can help the viewer to identify
with the film.
(3) Decision: powerfully-perceived images, when triggered by need, money and
time can tip the decision to travel to the filmed destination.
Figure 7.
The process of
film-induced tourism
(4) Travel to destination: a time of excitement when the imagined dream becomes a Film and tourism
reality.
(5) Participation: enjoying the destination and the image is confirmed or
disconfirmed by the reality.
(6) Return travel: the evaluation of the participation will be reflected in level of
satisfaction with the visit. Reviewing photos or watching the film again will 51
strengthen satisfaction and may lead to return visitation.
(7) New accumulation: watching new films will contribute to the viewer’s “image
store”, thus triggering new possibilities for future visitation.
52 9. Discussion
It may be suggested that not all DMOs are fully aware of the importance of films in
increasing the traffic of visitors. As the study shows, scenery is the most important
reason to visit a destination seen in a film, and destinations should work in
maintaining the natural beauty of those places by making important investment in
planning and design, in order to maintain an attractive image, which is vital for the
enticement of visitors. As suggested by Kotler et al. (1993, p. 37) “a place’s image must
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Corresponding author
Rafael Pires Basáñez can be contacted at: rafbasanez@yahoo.com