It could just be Hollywood's CGI and post-processing that makes certain locations in the world amazing and whether it is the latter, the storyline or the actors, Hollywood sells the country, the culture and its location heavily with each movie. The travel industry had long noticed this fact and so has governments who had created sponsored tourism campaigns around scheduled Hollywood films.
According to CNN Travel, many movies have managed to influence travelers to head to alternative travel locations. "Lord of The Rings" and its fantasy settings had helped New Zealand travel agencies find ways to use the film and showcase the locations where the movie's main characters walked and where the film's scenic shots were made.
The news website also highlighted Ang Lee's contribution to Indian tourism in 2012 with "Life of Pi" and how the Indian Ministry of Tourism used the movie to build a campaign based around the movie's shooting locations. The news website also cited La Trobe University Australia's Associate Professor of Tourism Sue Beeton. The researcher cited that "film-induced tourism" actually made up 5 percent of visitors to New Zealand, Italy and Sweden.
According to the Deccan Chronicle, Disney's "Frozen" had helped boost Norway's tourism. Shown in the movie's behind-the-scenes documentary, Disney's "Frozen" team journeyed in a vacation in Norway to gain inspiration for Arendelle. The "Harry Potter" franchise has also helped boost tourism in Britain's parks and old castles; even rides in King's Cross Station had become plentiful with the establishment of a simple sign that pointed to the hidden platform exhibited in the movie.
Many governments are taking advantage of film tourism. South Korea's Korea Tourism Organization is looking to help film productions worldwide create films in their country by using scouts looking for filming companies in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. German Film Tourism Consultant Stefan Roesch, movies featuring crime and other "bad" things such as drugs and extreme violence are not necessarily negative for film tourism spots. Roesch said there is a special "emotional connection that tourists have when visiting a place made special because of a film."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
