New global survey reveals the increasing effect films have on international travellers’ choices.
La La Land, Narcos, Pirates of the Caribbean, Buddies in India, Manchester by the sea… Last year, no less than 80 million travellers chose their destinations mostly based on films and TV series. While film-induced tourism is not new for destinations, the survey reveals its influence has reached unrivalled magnitude, with an estimated number of visitors volume having doubled in 5 years globally thanks to films.
The UNWTO-Awarded Research Agency spots some of the top destinations attracting visitors from films:
PINAKAS
TCI Research points out that film induced visitors are over-represented among Millennials and high-spending markets such as China and GCC. This micro-segment is a very valuable target for destinations compared to average visitors. TCI Research experts also stress that:
- Film-fans visitors are more active in sharing their trip experiences on the social web (+27%) and have higher post-visit recommendation rates (+6) than visitors average;
- They participate in 19% more cultural and natural activities during their trip. They are also more satisfied with their experience for most facets of their stay, reporting higher satisfaction rates with guided tours and excursions (+31%), landscape beauty (+21%) and leisure and cultural diversity (+29%).
- They are 10% more sensitive to destination advertising and tend to travel more frequenty during off the peak seasons too.
TCI Research CEO Olivier Henry-Biabaud concludes: “Films have now reached the same level of influence as Travel Agencies, offering great opportunities for destinations to benefit from an indirect promotion channel. Building experiential tourism products meeting this growing travellers’ demand generates long term economic and branding beneficial impact. It is advised however to manage risks from over-tourism collateral damage by guiding visitors infilm shooting locations in a sustainable way that include residents and environmental concerns, learning from the Maya
Bay Di Caprio example!”
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.