Understanding the Film-Induced Tourist

Abstract

This paper introduces a new conceptual approach to understanding the potential and actual motivations of the film-induced tourist. It could be said that this newly defined tourism niche refers to a post-modern experience of a place that has been depicted in some form of media representation. That is, an experience that is highly personalised and unique to each individual based on their own interpretation and consumption of media images. The Push and Pull Factor theory of motivation presents an appropriate theoretical framework in which to examine filminduced tourism, from a consumer perspective. It is proposed that a distinction will be made between the three concepts of Place (location attributes, landscapes, scenery), Personality (cast, characters, celebrity) and Performance (plot, theme, genre), and whether different or distinct motivations drive or induce travel behaviour. Further, it is proposed to then develop a continuum of film-induced tourism motivation which might range from the specific film-induced tourist to the general film-induced tourist to the serendipitous film tourist. This paper will provide examples, sourced from previous literature on film-induced tourism, to illustrate this conceptual approach to understanding the film-induced tourist.