Title: A model to develop film-induced tourism in Ireland

An exploration into the critical success factors Name:Ms.Catherine

YoungDr. Catherine McGuinnMs. Joanna Sweeney MA BBS NDATAddress:Dept.
of Business and HumanitiesInstitute of TechnologyBallinodeSligoE:
catherineyoung79@gmail.comAffiliation: Institute of Technology, Sligo

The study of film induced tourism is complex. It incorporates many

disciplines such associology and psychology. (Beeton, 2005 p.
18). Industry based sectors from film m a k i n g t h r o u g h t o
destination
marketing,
community
development
and
s t r a t e g i c planning are all involved in this industry.

Defining film-induced tourism

Film tourism can be described as movie-induced or filmi n d u c e d t o u r i s m . S e v e r a l authors have defined film-induced
tourism, as Film tourism is defined as tourist visitsto a
destination or attraction as a result of the destinations being
featured on television,video, or the cinema screen (Hudson et al,
2006 p.256, Beeton, 2004 p.9). However, a definition from a business
point of view is, Scotlands National tourism organisation as a s
the business of attracting visitors through portrayal
o f t h e p l a c e o r a p l a c e s storylines in film, video and
television (Scottish Tourist Board, 1997).A r a n g e o f u s e f u l
definitions has been provided in previous studies, and
t h e r e a l s o appears to be a variety of ways to refer to this
phenomenon, including: media inducedtourism, movie induced
tourism, film induced tourism, the cinematographic tourist andthe
media pilgrim on a media pilgrimage (Macionis 2004 p.87).One
universal theme however, suggests that this newly defined tourism
niche refers to a post-modern experience of a place that has been
depicted in some form of mediarepresentation. That is an
experience that is highly personalised and unique to
eachi n d i v i d u a l b a s e d o n t h e i r o w n i n t e r c e p t i o n a n d
c o n s u m p t i o n o f m e d i a i m a g e s (Macionis, 2004 p. 87). A more
recent definition was defined by (Roesch 2009 p.6)

asFilm Tourism is a specific pattern of tourism that drives

visitors to see screen places during or after production of a
feature film or a television production.

People travelling or leisure activities such as watching a film is a

form of escapism.I t p r o v i d e s p e o p l e w i t h a t e m p o r a r y
escape
from
reality
and
the
familiar.
Whenexperiencing a film, the audience is plunged into
a f a n t a s y w o r l d i n b e t w e e n t h e imaginary and the real,
which
makes
an
important
part
of
the
cinematic
experience(Turner 1988). Tourists also enter a kind of fantasy
world in between the imagined andreal cultures and places being
visited. Film tourism is partly based on tourists demandsto escape
into this in-between world and experience the cultural landscapes
representedin films. (Carl et al 2007 p. 3).
Beginnings/History of FIT
Table 1.1
Year Film Induced Tourism
1
i
t
B
9
e
T
M
5
a
a
T
C
a
T
1
g
t
R
K

9
n
h
o

3
y
e
u

n
9

h
a

i
n
3
g
1

9
e
h
i
w

u
a

t
n

r
1

d
9

N
a
9

i
r
5

o
a

d
o

e
v
a

e
i

r
1

L
a
w
r
e
n
c
e
o
f
A
r
a
b
i
a
1
9
6
5
T
h
e
S
o
u
n
d
o
f
M
u
s
i
c
Source
(Roesch, 2009 p.8)Over the last ten years, film tourism has come
increasingly to the fore, both in academiaand in the tourism
industry. The LOTR movies have made a significant contribution
tothis development (Roesch 2009 p.3) The evolution of mass
tourism in the 1970s and1 9 8 0 s ,
along
with
the
emergence of blockbuster film productions, augmented
t h e development of film tourism. (Roesch 2009 p.8). From research it
is evident that film-i n d u c e d t o u r i s m w a s h a p p e n i n g l o n g
b e f o r e t h e L O T R s u c c e s s . F i l m l o c a t i o n s attracting tourists
has been written in academia during the 1990s. (Riley, R., D.
Baker,& C. Van Doren, 1998).The Mutiny and the Bounty (1935) was
one of the first feature films to cause major tourism
influxes to a film location (Bee, 1999) cited in (Roesch 2009
p.8). However,Grihault (2003) argues that film tourism did not
significantly take off until the releaseof the Hollywood Blockbuster
Jaws (1975), which served to redefine the status of theHollywood
feature film as a marketable commodity and cultural phenomenon and
steer it toward an ear of high-cost, high-tech, high-speed
thrillers (Schatz 2003 p.24). F i l m - i n d u c e d t o u r i s m a n d
filming
sites
and
locations
for
example,
B r a v e h e a r t , Clockwork Orange, Harry Potter and Middle Earth
(New Zealand) have proved thist i m e a n d t i m e a g a i n a n d n o w
tourist
boards
and
tourist
offices
are
promoting
f i l m location holidays, film destination holidays, movie walks
and movie tours (Schofield1996, p.333). Also, stated by
Riley et al (1998, p.919) several researchers have found that
certain motion pictures increased the awareness of the places they
depicted and hadtourist inducing effects. The development of
film-induced tourism was made through the media. Below, the paper
identifies how media and tourism have become linked.

Media and tourism

From research it has become apparent that media has influenced

tourism in many ways.In the twenty first century, tourism and the
media are becoming ever more intrinsicallylinked. One such form of
media that is gaining recognition in its ability to foster
and boost tourism is film (OConnor et al, 2007 p.125). Prior
to the development of filmand television, a mass audience really had
access only to written works. From the mid-20
th
century, film (and later television) became the main mass media
outlet and has been particularly effective in affecting tourism
(Beeton, 2004 p.4). This has also beenreiterated by Bushe (2005
p.4) stating that, Just as paintings whetted the appetite
of tourists in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to
visit particular destinations, film has become the modern-day
equivalent for the tourist.Media has a huge impact on todays
society. Major motion picture films can providethe places,
objects and subjects for the gaze of many people, and for
some, films mayinduce them to travel specifically to the locations
where they were filmed (Riley et al,1998 p.919). Tourism to
the places featured in fictional TV Series and movies
isg r o w i n g a n d h a s c e r t a i n l y c a p t u r e d t h e i m a g i n a t i o n o f
d e s t i n a t i o n m a r k e t e r s a n d researchers alike (Beeton 2008
p.108).Schofiled (1996) states that the theory that many tourists
(especially mass tourists) tendto experience the world through a
series of framed images, from the brochure through tocar/bus
windows and the camera lens. The TV screen is yet another
frame
throughwhich
tourists
vicariously
experience
a
destination/attraction. Through its image- creating potential,
film can also provide strong motivation to tourists to actually visit
the places they have seen on the screen (Beeton, 2004 p.9).T o u r i s m
has advantages and disadvantages. It is important to
o u t l i n e t h e s e w h e n attempting to critically analyse the success
factors of film-induced tourism worldwide.
Benefits of film-induced tourism
The benefits of film tourism are becoming increasingly apparent.
According to Hudsona n d R i t c h i e ( 2 0 0 6 ) T h e e x p o s u r e a
film
gives
a
city,
province
or
country
is
a n advertisement viewed by potentially millions of people, an
audience
that
cannot
ber e a c h e d
through
traditional
tourism
promotions.
Destination
and
or
location

placement in movies and TV shows is an attractive and beneficial

marketing tool.(Hudons and Ritchi, 2006 p. 395). Having a
destination feature in a film can increase awareness and
enhances destination image and results in significant increases in
tourismnumbers, succeeding where traditional marketing efforts
cannot. (Hudson and Ritchie,2006 p. 395). Appealing to a wide and
diverse markets, film tourism offers somethingfor everyone, just like
the films themselves, and tourism organisations can use films
ass p r i n g b o a r d s f o r m a r k e t i n g c a m p a i g n s i f t h e f i l m s a r e
s e e n a s a p p r o p r i a t e f o r t h e destination (Hudson and Ritchie,
2006 p.387).One of the interesting aspects of film induced
tourism is that it can be long-term. An a n a l y s i s o f t h e
secondary data pertaining to the subject a film can
c o n t i n u e t o d r a w visitors year after year. Hudson and
Ritchie (2006) found that although the peak of interest comes
after a film is released, a 54% increase in visitation was evident at
least 5years later in the 12 films they studied and images are often
retained for a long time.Historical films have a huge benefit in
inducing tourism to the destination.