Convergence in Mediatized Tourism - Research Paper Example

?Convergence in Mediatized Tourism: So What? Introduction Convergence is a new media idea which enhances the understanding of tourist agencies in destination marketing. Tourists generate media images/products which are distributed online via channels such as the social media. The circulated services or products are then presented to other tourists for consumption which, in turn, influences other new media services or products (Mansson 2011, p1634). In this paper, five consumer generated media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Blog, and YouTube will be discussed in relation to a selected consumption arena. The consumption arena selected is Paris in the movie “Before Sunset.” The role of the media to tourism is crucial and it will be indicated in the consumer generated media and the selected consumption arena. Before Sunset In the movie Before Sunset, Jesse and Celine meet in Paris. Jesse is in Paris to launch his novel, which is essentially based on the evening he spent together with Celine in Vienna; during this time, Celine turns up. For the next eighty minutes of film time, our time, real time, Celine and Jesse walk the streets of Paris, head for a coffee, go for boating, and all this time both talk about who turned up in Vienna several years ago, who did not, who they are and the things they believe in now (ABC 2004). Before Sunset is characteristically a Parisian film, both in the travails of lovers and its exploration of the Parisian subject, and its interpretation of the flaneur’s Paris. Paris in this instance is a city of winding cafes, courtyards, and streets that ignite the desire for self-reflection and personal fulfilment (Block 2012, p92). Convergence Description: Paris Le Pure Cafe is among the most celebrated hospitality premises in Paris and it deservedly captures the cinematic association that the city has to filmmakers, featuring in numerous movies with its outstanding appearance and presentation (Durham 2007). Its iconic title appearing on top of its front door underscores its brand as a centre of attraction in the city. A different feature that probably makes its lasting impression hold on to its followers is the iconic wall colour and a tapering projection towards its front door. The arrangement of a few customer tables in front of the door enhances its scenic services array that presents Paris as a leader in European cultural presentation. Its location near other iconic attractions in Paris, such as St. Paul church and Bastille, provides synergistic importance to the presentation of the Cafe to numerous visitors to the sites (Hall 1997, p62). As an illustration of the importance of the Le Pure Cafe to Paris as tourist attraction site, the movie Before Sunset generates a link between Bastille and other attraction icons such as the Bateau Mouche. Paris in the Movie Before Sunset Le Pure Cafe in the movie Before Sunset captures cinematic importance of hospitality facilities that the city of Paris possesses. The main characters’ interactions in the Le Pure Cafe present top-notch service that Paris offers to visitors, such as the two strangers who meet accidentally in the city. Jesse and Celine move from St. Paul church into the Le Pure Cafe to achieve a rare presentation of the cafe than many films would (Linklater 2004). Perhaps, the romantic scene enhancement by a hospitality environment underscores the city’s tourism equivalence in as much magnitude as its cinematic presentation. The choice of the scene coincides with the theme of the movie, thereby appealing to several tourism consumers who accidentally view the scene on their movie screens. In view of the achievement of cinematic presentation of Paris through Le Pure Cafe, media channel, such as the movie Before Sunset, presents what tourism customers would love to experience having witnessed the movie delivery of the scene (Reader 1993, p40915). Convergence Example: Facebook In Facebook, a page called Paris, France, has been created. The page has 3,255,143 likes (in this case, the likes represent the number of followers). Also, 317,773 people have talked about the page in September, with 12,105,072 visits. The page is about Paris, France, its beauty and Parisian charm. It states that the place is for all generations whether tourists or locals. Comments on the page’s timeline are both from the page administrator and those who have liked the page. The page has several places links to tourist attractions in Paris including Museum national d'Histoire naturelle, Pont des Arts, and Parc Floral de Paris among others. From the page, it is clear that Paris is a vibrant place with several recreational, shopping and business centers (Facebook – Paris, France). Convergence Example: Twitter In Twitter, there are a number of tweets about Paris. The most notable tweets include those of posted at ParisSecrets. ParisSecrets (on 30 July 2012) tweets: “Paris Plages 2012 is back! Enjoy the Beach in Paris....” On the Tourism France Page, 80 tweets have been posted with 1045 followings from 987 followers. The tweets posted on the page about Paris are positive and attractive. The administrator of the page notes states, “Well, the original question was if Paris is a beautiful city? For me there is no other answer than a big yes. With all the diversity, with the good and the bad things, this is a destination that truly lives up to all the expectations” (twitter.com/Travelshake_FR). Convergence Example: Flickr The photo was taken and shared on Flickr by “Stewart Leiwakabessy”. It was taken on 30 May, 2012. After being posted on Flickr, it generated several comments and 75 people added the photo as their favourite. Meteorry commented about the open tour of Paris, “I love the results we made from the Open Tour busses”. Also, Baldo Graffagnino (on 24 April 2012) commented on a photo: “ah Paris, my love! [translated from French to English using Google translator]”. Both comments indicate an interest in Paris, France. Convergence Example: You Tube From among several clips available on You Tube regarding the city of Paris, the snap shot above was taken from a clip that was just 10 minutes long attracting a huge viewership of over 598,182 at the time of taking the screen shot. The clip is a presentation of various tourist attractions in Paris, France. (You Tube 2012). The clip has 1,117 likes and only 58 dislikes. One of the comments posted by one of the viewers of the clip, Ranaansar Ansar, is: “What? a wonderful pictorial/video tour of Paris” (You Tube 2012). Convergence Example: Blog Frenchtraveler.com Valerie Sutter presents her perspective of Paris, France, in a blog featured in frenchtraveler.com. The blog serves the purpose of publicizing the attractions in Paris. A beautiful image of the Eiffel Tower and its surroundings is presented in a picture. The blogger notes that the tower is the most frequented tourist attraction in the whole world with close to seven million people visiting it annually. Valerie has favourable words for the city of Paris and its key attraction (Eiffel Tower). She notes that “The best views from the tower can be seen after dark, when the City of Lights shows its finery. Views of the city are often clearer and better defined without the haze of the daylight, and the lines of people waiting to go up are less long” (frenchtraveler.com par 4). Discussion and Conclusion The relationship between the media and tourism is vital and sophisticated. Tourism heavily relies on media reporting because most of the travel decisions are made by individuals who have never visited the destination (UN News Centre 2007). In the case of Paris, it can be clearly seen that most decisions made by visiting a particular place rely on media reporting. The tourism sector is no longer selling products; instead, it is selling experiences. These experiences depend on the perceptions, feelings, emotions, and demographic, sociological, and psychographic factors of the individuals. Thus, tourists need to show their own feelings and experiences to third people through platforms such as the social media. In addition, most people tend to trust on consumer’s experiences instead of the information given by the owners of the business (Rodriguez 2009, p25). As seen in the example of Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr, most of the people tend to comment on photos, tweets, and timelines of third party people instead of those from the administrators. For instance, the photo posted in Flickr generated a comment from a user who had seen a similar photo on Explore. Social media have been considered as the new electronic word of mouth platform. In this kind of platform, the marketers do not necessarily push the existence of interpersonal relations. Individuals take part in this form of exchange to gain all the needed capabilities to understand and make use of a service or a product (Henning-Thurau et al 2004). This indicates that the marketers or providers have little or nothing to do with the information the consumers share about a specific place. For Paris, most of the comments have been positive and this means most people perceive the place to be good, and that is why they recommend it as evidenced in Twitter and Facebook. The various presentation concepts captured from the Paris clip on You Tube illustrates the magnitude of the city that is synonymous with luxury and enjoyment. The resemblance of the presentation of Paris in the movie Before Sunset and the number of reviews and views by You Tube users generates a link between media and tourism. Mainly, positive reviews of the famous city appear on You Tube, illustrating the marketing potential that users possess in influencing prospective tourism consumers. While there are a few negative comments or dislikes associated with the city, these have little influence for their lack of weight. The low photo votes - by just one person - could be attributed, perhaps, directly to the popularity of the blog. It is not clear, however, the several reviews appearing at the bottom of the blog did not translate into votes for the city. Alternatively, several better quality images of the scene, such as that presented on Flickr, could rank higher than the Blog’s choice of image. The attention given by the blog visitors, however, captures an interesting nexus with the movie Before Sunset. The importance of media emerges in the acknowledgment of several blog opinions to the effect that Paris is a beautiful place to tour, relax and enjoy even as presented in the movie Before Sunset. Perhaps, a combination of modern technology in advertisement would drastically improve tourism marketing across the boarders using unconventional space for advertising such as film (McCole and Palmer, 2000, p200). In conclusion, the relationship between the media and tourism has become very important. Consumer generated convergence spots such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Blog, and YouTube have become popular sites for consumers (such as tourists) to share their experiences, feelings, and emotions about a particular place. Unlike in the past years, providers and marketers have had little influence on tourists in regard to the information given about the products or services they offer. The trend for the consumers has been to rely on the information given on the social media about those services and products. Therefore, the media has influenced most decisions made by travellers who have or have not visited a certain destination. In the case of Paris, a lot of parity is seen between what media presents, what people say and what actually exists. In the movie, Le Pure Cafe which is located in Paris is presented as a beautiful place. In reality, going by the pictures of Paris and facts as presented by various authoritative sources, the place is beyond doubt a favourite tourist attraction. Social media like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and You Tube all present the place in good light to a major extent. Considering that the posts on social media are presentations of people’s experiences or thoughts, potential tourists are bound to be influenced by postings and pictures of Paris. Many people would wish to visit Paris going by what others say about the place through different media. References ABC. (2004). Before Sunset, ABC, Available from [Accessed 5 Sep. 2012]. Block, M. (2012). World film locations: Paris, Bristol, UK: Intellect Books. Durham, C. A. (2007). Sighting/ Siting/ citing the city: The construction of Paris in the twenty first century cinema, [online] Available from [Accessed 31 August 2012] Facebook. (2012). All Places, Paris, France, Available from [Accessed 31 August 2012]. Flickr. (2012). Stewart Leiwakabessy Tourist Flock - Views from Paris L'Open Tour, Paris – France, Available from [Accessed 31 August 2012]. Frenchtraveler.com. (2012). The majestic Eiffel Tower, Available from [Accessed 31 August 2012]. Hall, M. C. (1997). Geography, marketing and selling of places, Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, vol.6, no. 3/4, pp.61-84 Henning-Thurau, T., Gwinner, K. P., Walsh, G. & Gremler, D. D. (2004). Electronic word-of mouth via consumer opinion-platforms: What motivates consumers to articulate themselves on the Internet? Journal of Interactive Marketing, 18(1), pp38-52. Linklater, R. (Dir). (2004). Before Sunset (motion pictures), Warner Independent Pictures. Mansson, M. (2011). Mediatized tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 38(4), pp1634-1652. McCole, P. & Palmer, A. (2000). The role of electronic commerce in creating virtual tourism destination marketing organisations, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 12, no. 3, pp.198-204. Reader, K. (1993). Cinematic representations of Paris: Vigo/Truffaut/Carax, Modern and Contemporary France, vol. 4 pp. 40915. Rodriguez, I. L. (2009). Social media in tourism behaviour, Thesis (Masters), Bournemouth University. Twitter. (2012). Tourism France Paris @Travelshake_FR, Available from [Accessed 31 August 2012]. UN News Centre. (2007). Media have vital role in promoting tourism for economic development – UN [online], UN News Centre. Available from: [Accessed 31 August 2012]. YouTube. (2007). Paris France - Paris Francia, Available from [Accessed 31 August 2012]. Read More