Film-Induced Tourism in China - Literature review Example

For One Destination of Your Choice, Analyse How Fiction and Film Influence Destination Image Film-induced tourism is a leisure and income generating activity, which has been formed through the hybridisation of show business and tourism business. These two are developed to a given degree in order to achieve this activity (Shields 1991). Many people who become interested in the thrilling components of show business are referred to as film-induced tourists. The components making up this form of tourism include movie theme parks, film festivals and filming locations (Riley, Baker & Van 1998). The film industry can form an image, which often adds value for certain tourist destinations where the film work was carried out. The value addition is achieved by the fact that this created image works as promotional tool at the international level. The representations, which are developed through the mass media, act as an important factor in influencing vacation spot decisions therefore inducing tourism (Urry 1990). A person who visits a specific destination as a result of the attraction being featured on the cinema screen, video or television is known as a film induced tourist (Busby & Klug 2001:316). According to Riley, Baker and Van (1998: 920), specific film induced tourism arises when individuals go to pay a visit to seek the sites they have watched on the television screens. A good case scenario is in China where film-induced tourism has been defined as a total success. The image developed in films has been phenomenal in promoting and reinforcing images of China to the global masses, thus creating a tourist influx.   According to Echtner and Ritchie (1991), literature has widely recognised that the image of a destination greatly influences a tourist’s choice on his/her most appropriate destination site. The relationship between media and tourism arises from literary tourism and the cultural geography scholarship that have acknowledged the application of textual accounts to make "place-myths". Film-induced tourism, therefore, follows this basis to demonstrate the influence of electronic media in the construction of landscape meanings (MacCannell 1976). According to Beeton (2005), media-induced tourism attractions lie not only on the attractive showcasing of the landscape but also on the story of the film. The film narrative gives the tourist attraction a mediated meaning, which turns the place into a landmark that tourists are always anxious to make a pilgrimage to. Films and fiction are important in the provision of knowledge of certain aspects of the tourist destination where it is based on. This information includes the nature, inhabitants of the place and their culture, which goes to great lengths in the construction of tourist attitudes towards the country. An interest in the destination and its positive image in a film eventually results to an actual visit by a tourist (Joanne 2012). According to Baker, Riley and Van (1992), films enable tourists to travel by their scenery and their associated themes. Filming locations and actors go a long way in shaping the feelings of the audience. Destination experiences are enhanced in memories by associating them with the involved actors, events, and film setting (Joanne 2012). There are various forms of film-induced tourism with varying characteristics. For instance, the film location may act as an attraction on its own. According to Evans (1997), such destinations are viewed as worthy in terms of tourist attraction prior to the film work. The other form of film-induced tourism is where it is taken as a part of the main vacation. In this form, tourists lack previous location knowledge, and they normally visit film sites and book tours while they are in their vacation (Sue 2008). Film-induced tourism can also be as a result of a tourist visiting a destination after watching a film. Such films could include a romantic gaze where the destination is visited due to its being related to romance in a movie. Film-induced tourism, in this case, occurs as a pilgrimage where the films become escape points in their right (Sue 2005). Nowadays, numerous researches have been done on film-induced tourism. According to Beeton (2005), this research has been split into four categories. These groups include the studies carried out on the film ability to influence ones decision to travel. According to Baker, Riley and Van (1992), fiction, and films give a destination a particular image which attracts the tourists. Other studies focus on the film-induced tourists themselves. In reference to Echtner and Ritchie (1991), such tourists often get a positive urge to visit the destination from the film. Research has also been carried out on the effects of tourism to the residents. Film-induced tourism empowers the population around the destination economically through the sale of artifacts and so forth. The final category is the research work, which is carried out in order to study the various marketing activities being carried out in order to promote film-induced tourism (Simon & Brent 2006). In China, the government set two objectives for film-induced tourism, which include a local and a global approach. In the local scene, the government looks forward to upholding Chinese values and culture. It also looks forward to creating an attractive image for the country, which would go further in attracting tourists. According to Anon (2013), China overtook Japan hence becoming the second-largest film market in the world after America. An enormous portion of the young people is always looking forward to any new films in the market. Many films shooting sites have been developed with an aim to boost the film industry and tourism. An appropriate example is the CCTV Wuxi Movie/TV Base, which occupies an area of more than 100 acres with constant access to Lake Taihu. In addition, the base acts as a theme park, which is one of the countrys leading batches of 5A grade tourist attraction areas. With this kind of functionality, which is unique, the site attracts two million tourists every other year, who come to witness the various steps involved during film production. Due to routine upgrading of the site and the exemplary services offered, film-induced tourism has been on the rise. The CCTV Wuxi Movie/TV Base Chief is made up of four parts. These sites include the Town of Three Kingdoms, Town of Water Margin and the Town of Tang Dynasty, which were completed in 1996, 1994 and 1991 respectively. The base is well adapted to film shooting as well as an amusement park for tourists. The film shooting sites always offer an inexhaustible source of amusement for the visitors. CCTV Wuxi Movie/TV is well known for “the Stories of Three Kingdoms", “Water Margin", "Emperor Ming Huang of Tang Dynasty" which were filmed there. Tourists enjoy tours around the movie site, taking pictures with film stars and asking for autographs from their role models. The China Central Television constructed the Zhuozhou CCTV movie and television base, in 1990. The base is made up of the Tang dynasty scenic area. In the 1992, the China National Tourism Bureau and the China Central Television held a successful Mid-Autumn evening party and a Yangzhou Lantern Festival which attracted many film-induced tourists. The Central Television base in Nanhai is located in Guangdong. The tourism destination is also a beautiful place with big buildings where film and television work has left a great tourist attraction effect. Many tourists visit the destination from all over the world to enjoy half day tours around the film studio. Inside the base, they are involved in many activities such as participating in plays, watching water fighting shows and horse-back fight of the Chinese tri-nation (Binyi& Qin 2004). The Weihai film-shooting base is located along China’s “Garden City” and rests along the north-eastern shoreline section of Shandong. It attracts many tourists who flock in to participate in plays and watch their favourite movie stars in action (Binyi & Qin 2004). Hengdian World Studios that are located in Dongyang, Zhejiang have greatly influenced film-induced tourism with their possession of a pair of modern studios. Since its establishment in 1996, more than 500 films and Television shows have been filmed in this site. Film-induced tourists are given a chance to experience filming and enjoy the activities. Due to the base possessing a rich cultural sense, it has included the Northern China’s cultural element as well as that of the Southern China. The film site attracts many film directors as well as their fans who accompany them during their tours. Social amenities such as high-grade hotels with saunas, amusement parks and health clubs are just some of the measures taken by the investors in trying to enhance the success of the film-induced tourism in the site (Binyi & Qin 2004). In the Hengdian World Studios, the Ming and Qing Imperial Court Scenic section is the biggest film shooting base. The section was constructed in 1998, and it has a good scenic area with film shooting and festival celebrations which are all located in one place therefore acting as a key tourism destination. Films such as ‘Curse of the Golden Flower’ and the ‘Deer and Cauldron’ were filmed in this base. The Shaolin Temple created in 1982 greatly influenced the propagation of film-induced tourism in Dengfeng, Henan Province, which made it the highlight tourism area in China. The Shaolin temple is one of the four Chinese Buddhist temples, which institutionalised kung fu and Chinese martial arts. Literary tourism is a form of cultural tourism that dwells with events and location from fictional texts and the lives of their authors. This involves the tourist following the specific route taken by a fictional character or even paying a visit to the novelist’s grave. This form of tourism has been considered as a type of secular pilgrimage (Olivia 1999). Literary tourists are primarily interested in finding out how these destinations have influenced writing as well as how the place was created through writing. Many museums affiliated with the writers have been erected in the buildings related to their literary career or birth (Steve 2011). A Dream of Red Mansions is a movie series of Chinese origin, which was directed by Li Shao Hong in 2010. The classic literary story outlines the daily lives of the 18th-century aristocracy. This drama series has influenced the choice of China by many tourists as a vacation destination. In China, Korean films and dramas are followed attentively just as it is the case across Asia. On the streets of major Chinese cities, girls are spotted wearing clothes popularised by the Korean films. The boom has played an important role in boosting tourist arrivals to China (Sangkyun & Hua 2012). There are many problems which come up as a result of film-induced tourism. These include environmental problems, cheap tourism products, repeated investments and social problems. In the case of environmental problems, issues such as building of temporary structures within previously existing scenery have a great impact on the environment. The structures’ architectural design leads to the destruction of the vegetation so as to create enough room for their construction(Kirtsoglou & Theodossopoulos 2004). The waste materials from the destination’s staff is not handled properly by the management. This leads to pollution of the environment. In terms of environmental knowledge, the actors and actresses involved in the creation of films in these studios are not properly educated on the importance of conserving the environment. Due to the lack of a diverse and inclusive tourist attraction, film-induced tourism primarily dwells on tours around the film studios and viewing the films being worked on. This scenario makes it impossible for the destinations to attract individuals with different tourism preferences. Lack of diversity, therefore, inhibits them from visiting the destination. In film induced tourism, there also exists the problem of repeated investments where similar film bases are erected countrywide. This discourages the tourists from visiting other studios due to the limited amusement activities provided (Peaslee 2011). In conclusion, there are social problems, which arise from film-induced tourism. Such issues arise when the film-induced tourists affect the cultural beliefs of the inhabitants. An example is in the mode of dressing which could be considered weird. References Anon, 2013. China’s film industry: the red carpet’, The Economist. [Online] Available at: http://www.economist.com/news/christmas-specials/21591741-red-carpet [Accessed 22 March 2015]. Beeton S., 2005. Film-induced tourism. Clevedon: Channel View Publications. Binyi L., & Qin L., 2004. Status Quo and Trend of Chinese Movie and Television Tourism Development. Tourism Tribune, 19(6), pp. 77-81. Busby G., Klug J., 2001. The transition from tourism on farms to farm tourism. Journal of vacation marketing, 7(4), pp. 316-332. Echtner C.M., & Ritchie J.R.B., 1991. The Meaning and Measurement of Destination Image. J. Tour. Stud. 2(2): pp. 2-12. Evans M., 1997. Plugging into TV tourism. British TouristAuthority/English Tourist Board, pp. 35-38. Joanne C., 2012. Film tourism–Evolution, progress and prospects. 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