Film tourism, sometimes calledfilm-induced tourism,set-jetting, orlocation-vacation, is a specialized or niche form oftourism in which visitors explore locations and destinations connected withfilms andtelevision series,[1] tourproduction studios, or visit media-related theme parks.[2]
The termset-jetting, referring to the trend of traveling to destinations that werefilming locations,[3] was the headline of a 2007New York Post article on the subject by Gretchen Kelly.[4] It has become one of the biggest trends in travel.[5]
Examples include touringLondon in a high-speed boat as in theJames Bond films, or visiting the stately homes that are seen in theJane Austen adaptations. The term is a play onjet-setting, a form of luxury travel in upper-class society.
Film-induced tourism is one of the fastest-growing sectors in tourism currently.[6] It emerged as a prominent form of tourism in the 1990s. Before its emergence as a unique driver of the tourism industry, there were brief mentions of the phenomenon of film tourism by academics and anecdotal mentions.
In 1996, the British Tourism Association became the first tourism agency to capitalize on film tourism by publishing a map ofGreat Britain with movie locations marked on it.[7]
This increasing popularity of film tourism is due to the rise of international travel, the rapid growth of the entertainment industry, and cult-like celebrity status.[8]
For destinations, films provide long-term tourism revenue. The appearance of a particular area in a film or television can have a huge effect on the number of visitors of an already existing place and create a new kind of tourism to the area and generate a boost for thelocal economy. On average, a film can increase tourism and revenue by almost 31%.[9]
InNew Zealand, fans ofThe Lord of The Rings movie series visit New Zealand, where most of the movie scenes were shot. The movies increased the annual tourist influx to New Zealand from US$1.7 million in 2000 to US$2.4 million in 2004, a 40 percent surge.[10][11]
InBritain, theAlnwick Castle, where the scenes for the movieHarry Potter were shot had experienced a 120% increase in visitor numbers which brought an estimated £9 million worth tourist revenue to the area.[12] One of the most prominent examples of film-induced demand isLondon King's Cross railway station, which was made famous for featuring a fictional section known as platform 9 3/4 in the Harry Potter movie series, first appearing inHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. This fictional location was made into a real attraction in order to entice tourists to visit the train station, and a Harry Potter souvenir shop was constructed to capitalise on the increased interest in the series and the station.
Several regression analyses suggest a high correlation between destinations taking a proactive approach in order to encourage producers/studios to film at their location, and the tourism success in the area after the release of the movie.[13] This is consistent with induced demand theory. When the supply increases, in the form of media exposure to areas that were not regarded as tourist hotspots, the number of visitors increases, even though the majority of these new visitors would not have necessarily visited these areas previously. This is exemplified by a Travelsat Competitive Index study that indicated that in 2017 alone, approximately 80 million tourists made the decision to travel to a destination based primarily on its feature in a television series or film. This figure has doubled since 2015.[citation needed]
An analysis of the use of Geospatial technologies in set jetting was proposed byThierry Joliveau inThe Cartographic Journal.[14] Corporations, convention and tourism boards followed the trend that year, creating their own set-jetting travel maps, like theElizabeth: The Golden Age movie map published by VisitBritain.[15][16]
In June 2018,Maya Beach, made famous byDanny Boyle's 2000 filmThe Beach, was closed indefinitely to allow it to recover from the ecological damage of mass tourism.[17] The beach received up to 5,000 tourists and 200 boats a day.[17] The beach has since reopened, however visitors aren't allowed to swim in the water, but are allowed to wade in knee deep. These measures aim to protect the marine life and eco-system.[18]
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Notable movie and television series filming locations that have become popular tourist destinations because of that include:
