Enjoy watching films? Then prepare to enter into a state of hyperreality!

Film tourism, over the last ten years, has come increasingly to the fore, both in academia and in the tourism industry (Roesch, 2009). Mintel (2003) states that "the success of film tourism is based on the success of the film, largely measured by box office figures". Film tourism offers something for everyone just like the films themselves.

The impact that the film industry is having on tourists cannot be ignored. Beeton (2005) states that "it is generally accepted that the term 'movie induced tourism' relates to on-location tourism that follows the success of a movie made (or set) in a particular region". It is clear that movies are having a significant impact upon viewers, to such an extent that tourists will seek out the location off the screen; in order to fully experience and appreciate the different and alternative world being viewed on the big screen. Riley and Van Doren (1992, cited in Carl et al, 2007) suggest that a film "must have one or more of the three qualities to create potential for inducing tourism: 'uniqueness, status or timely significance'".

Beeton (2005) further contends that "the effect of film on human behaviour has long been debated". As travellers, there is a longing for other countries and a curiosity for other cultures. It can be argued that this longing and curiosity are the key impulses that drive human beings to explore; leaving behind the familiar in order to discover the unknown (Roesch, 2009).

It is argued that film tourism is based on a form of escape via simulation, spectacle and sensations (Carl et al, 2007). Macionis (2004) looked at push and pull motivation in film induced tourism. Pull factors can be categorised in terms of place, personality (cast, characters, celebrity) and performance (plot, theme, genre). Push factors, according to Macionis (2004) vary from aspects that will enhance the ego, help search for self identity to providing a fantasy and escape for tourists.

Whilst looking at the concept of film tourism, it is important to understand the term of 'hyper-reality'. The term "hyperreality" was coined by the French theorist Jean Baudrillard (1929) to describe the condition whereby imitations or reproductions of reality acquire more legitimacy, value, and power than the originals themselves. Baudrillard articulates his theory of hyperreality as the theoretical state wherein distinctions between a representation and its original referent no longer exist (Encyclopaedia of Postmodernism, 2004).

Hyperreality is constructed out of what Baudrillard calls models or simulacra which have no reference to reality, but exist within a series of replication that has no historical meaning. In terms of film tourism, hyperreality is an important concept. When tourists visit on site locations from movies, they enter this 'hyperreality'. The movie itself has had more power enticing tourists to the location than the actual location itself, thus emphasising the power of the silver screen.

Carl et al (2007) contend that "leisure activities, such as watching a film as well as travelling, are a way to escape". Furthermore, Turner (1988, cited in Carl et al, 2007) goes on to talk about movies reflecting a fantasy world in between the imaginary and the real, one in which the audience enters and becomes a part of when experiencing a film. This fantasy world becomes a reality when tourists visit the location and it can be argued that it is at this point that film tourists enter into a hyperreality.

Lord of the Rings is the key example of film tourism. Buchmann et al (2010) state that the Lord of the Rings films, which are produced in New Zealand, "form the basis of significant tourism activity- are particular representations or interpretations of a story that was fictional". The whole story of Lord of the Rings is fictional, and yet has managed to encapsulate so many fans. A whole different world has been created, one that people want to experience.

Another good example of film tourism is that surrounding the Harry Potter films. According to Mintel (2003) "Harry Potter has been a major factor helping Britain recover its tourism industry, being one of the most successful film promotions for Britain". Visit Britain built a destination experience from the theme of the film stating, "If you love the film then you love Britain". This is just another example of the impact of film on tourism behaviour.

Touching on hyperreality again, the most common example can be seen in that of Disney Land. Disney Land was born purely out of fantasy and imagination. Williams (2004) states that "it is irrelevant whether it is 'either real or false', since there is no original that can be used as a reference". When tourists enter Disney land they enter a different world, one that provides escape and fantasy for the tourists.

To conclude, film tourism is an increasingly growing industry and depending on the film can result in hyper real tourism experiences. It can be argued that film tourism provides an escape route from everyday life for tourists which allows them to dive into and experience another world, that of fantasy and dreams, even if for a short period of time. It can therefore be surmised that there is a strong link between film tourism and hyperreality, especially when tourists seek an experience resembling as real as possible depictions to the movies they love so much.

REFERENCES

Beeton, S. (2005) Film-Induced tourism. Clevedon: Channel View Publications.

Buchmann, A., Moore, K., Fisher, D. (2010) Experiencing Film Tourism, Authenticity & Fellowship. Annals of Tourism Research [online] 37 (1) Accessed via Business Source Premier at: <www.ebscohost.com >

Carl, D., Kindon, S., Smith, K. (2007) Tourists' Experiences of Film Locations: New Zealand as 'Middle-Earth'. Tourism Geographies 9 (1) Accessed via Business Source Premier at: <www.ebscohost.com >

Macionis, N. (2004) Understanding the Film-Induced Tourist. International Tourism and Media Conference 200. Accessed via Business Source Premier at: <www.ebscohost.com >

Mintel (2003) Film Tourism: Mintel Marketing Report. [online]. London: Mintel. [Accessed 19th April, 2010] Available at: <http://academic.mintel.com/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=24489>

Riley, R., Baker, D., Van Doren, C. (1998) Movie Induced Tourism. Annals of Tourism Research [online] 25 (4) Accessed via Business Source Premier at: <www.ebscohost.com >

Roesch, S. (2009) The Experiences of Film Location Tourists. Bristol: Channel View Publications

Taylor, V., Winquist, C. (2001) Encyclopaedia of Post Modernism. London: Routledge.

Mainly why I'm commenting on this conference paper is that it links very effectively with my previously written dissertation. I also have an ever-growing interest towards this particular tourism area because of my interest towards both topics; the film and travelling. First of all, this paper has very interestingly gathered the numerous different aspects that form the basis for film-induced tourism and represent their meanings very effectively.

There are numerous authors coinciding with the fact that a film needs to have a box office success to be perceived as a sufficient method of exposure for the location (Bolan and Williams, 2008; Riley et al, 1998). The film, Lord of the Rings, especially enforces this fact and shows that there has to be some linkage between the success and its power over a destination. But this same movie raises another point to think about, the fact that it already had a formidable fan base beforehand, and that these previously formed imaginative images through the original books might have had the 'initial' influence over the tourist to visit the destination, and not the box office status. In addition some authors argue that even with modest revenues and no 'box office status', the film has had a positive effect over the destination, and that box office successes then again had not achieved to induce the tourists (Young and Young, 2008; Roesch, 2009, British Film Institute, 2010). As you mention, it is truly a very 'complex' tourism industry with very interesting pull and push factors.

Hyper-reality also, is a very 'interesting' term to be noticed, as it always eludes us from the concept of factual reality. These newly formed film-induced tourists do not actually distinguish the reality and fantasy, and rather prefer the created illusions of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, where their minds can roam and imaginations can wander off to create something fantasy like (Baudrillard, 1994). It is always very 'frightening' when you start to realize that you would prefer the fictional over the factual; such as going to the 'real' lands of Lord of the Rings, or the castles of Harry Potter. Both of them are fictional creations to begin with and not factual locations or events of real life. In the future, we will see what this industry will turn out to provide the tourists.

To conclude, I have to say that this gave me some interesting 'aspects' to think about, which I had not even considered when writing my dissertation, and that the I have to agree with many of you assumptions about the effects of films. However, I would have also liked to have more in-depth analyses of some of the observations you've done about the relationship between, hyper-reality and film-induced tourism.


Baudrillard, J. (1994) Simulacra and simulation, Michigan: The University of Michigan Press

Bolan, P. and Williams, L. (2008) The Role of image in service promotion: focusing on the influence of film and consumer choice within the tourism, International Journal of Consumer Studies, 32 pp. 382 - 390

British Film Institute (2010) BFI | Film & TV Database | BRAVEHEART (1995), United Kingdom, British Film Institute (BFI), http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/508293 [accessed 3rd March 2010]

Riley, R., Baker, D. and van Doren, C. S. (1998) Movie Induced Tourism, Annals of Tourism Research, 25 (4) pp. 919 - 935

Roesch, S. (2009) The Experiences of Film Location Tourists, Great Britain: Channel View Publications

Young, A. F. and Young, R. (2008) Measuring the Effects of Film and Television on Tourism to Screen Locations: A Theoretical and Empirical Perspective, Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 24 (2-3) pp. 195 - 211

As I commented earlier on Charis's summary I choose to comment on this one for the same reason that it is related to my study of authenticity in Disney, letting me further explore the subject, but also due to the fact that it provides additional interesting insights with out of the box perspective on film tourism. This particular summary gives me better understanding view of the matter because you are explaining the question of how hyper-reality happens and provides clear link between the art of the motion picture and the phenomena of hyper-reality.
You cite Roesch (2009) who talks about leaving the familiar to discover the unknown and Enzensberger (1990) in Pretes (1995) also talks about the idea of 'escapism' and looking for illusion, where the motivations to leave usual environments are the ways of dealing with the uncertainty and stress of modern lifestyles. Thus there is no wonder that people want to make themselves believe in a fantasy of entertainment (Ritzer and Liska, 1997 in Wang, 1999). The most recent and clearest example of hyper-reality seekers is a success of the 'Avatar' movie that caused some viewers to feel frustrated that such a real world does not exist (Thomas, 2010).
It is interesting when you talk about Baudrillard's concept of simulacra when referring to hyper-reality because it explains how people become confused when actually believing in what is not real. Once an idea has been present in the media or other channels of communication before, replicating it in the movie again can cause a false perception of its authenticity. It also made me think of the subject of my own work and Walt Disney Parks. Fjellman (1992) in Wang (1999) says that by blurring real and the fake in the staging process becomes more authentic which is part of the company's success. That process takes place by reproduction of the myths, legends and archetypes. In Disney animated movies represent certain codes of behaviour and embrace socially acceptable values for instance family. On the other hand they also embrace magic. That can be called 'blurring' the real and the fake. By reproduction through attractions the existential "authenticity" is further enforced (WDW, 2010). According to Wang's (1999) existential authenticity the latter depends on individual 'true' experience and not the objects. To enforce this argument your statement could be used when you cite Turner (1998) in Carl et al. (2007) of going from the fantasy (of the movie) into the real by experiencing hyper-real source, where filming of the movie took place.
The issue of authenticity and hyper-reality is not the case whether people are believing in staged objects because it is done so only for their benefit and entertainment, and enjoying that entertainment reflects one's ability to experience 'playfulness' (Urry, 1990). It is without a doubt that film tourism boosts the local economy and it requires creation of the management to control a tourism flow. The expectations of tourists and their beliefs vary from one individual to another, thus depend on how every individual looks at a concept of authenticity and interpret hyper-reality (Cohen, 1988).


Cohen, E. (1988) Authenticity and Commoditization in Tourism, Annals of Tourism Research, 15(3), 371-386.
Pretes, M. (1995) Postmodern Tourism: The Santa Claus Industry. Annals of Tourism Research. 22(1), pp. 1-15.
Thomas, L. (2010). The Avatar effect: Movie-goers feel depressed and even suicidal at not being able to visit utopian alien planet. [online].[ Accessed 2 May 2010]. Available at: <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1242409/The-Avatar-effect-Movie-goers-feel-depressed-suicidal-able-visit-utopian-alien-planet.html>.
Urry, J. (1990) The Tourist Gaze. London: SAGE.
Wang, N. (1999) Rethinking Authenticity in Tourism Experience. Annals of Tourism Research. 26(2), pp. 349-370.
WDW (2010) Walt Disney World in Florida. [online]. [Accessed 20 April 2010]. Available at: <http://disneyworld.disney.go.com>.

This paper shows good research and discussion of the various aspects of this particular issue. You explain clearly the push and pull factors for film induced tourism and how it connected to tourists' willingness to experience the fantasy world of films. Also you have explained the key terms to make the paper more understandable. In addition you have represented valid examples to further explain the meaning of film tourism and hyperreality.

Like you said film tourism is based on escape to experience the world seen on the screen. But also it is about a desire to participate in a dream (Urry, 1988). Hyperreality has enabled this longing for fantasy and is represented widely in tourism, which has become part of the media and vice versa.

In film tourism the real landscape is shaped with new meanings that still are familiar to the viewer from the film and are free to be consumed. Film tourists do not experience the real landscape but the one that they have seen on the screen; the nature has been transformed into a cultural space. As the tourists search for these signs from the landscape, they travel in hyperreality where the film representation becomes 'real'; the distinction between the reality and the film becomes blurred (Buchmann et al, 2009; Carl et al, 2007). In order to the experience to be authentic it is dependent on the place and the process around the experience. When the destination is transformed from being the place where the filming took place to the place that was seen on the screen an authentic experience is possible, like in your example of The Lord of the Rings. When tourists visit New Zealand, which at the same time is the Middle Earth they are able to be in the physical location where reality and the film merge (Buchmann et al, 2009).

You didn't mention about the successfulness of the experience the tourists undergo, although I think that is an essential part of experiencing hyperreal. It is obvious that tourists are not always content with the holiday experience. The quality of the experience depends on the tourist's expectations and how they have been met during the journey. The tourist sees hyperreal images in the film and afterwards possesses some expectations of the 'real' location of the film. If these expectations are met when visiting the destination the tourist has had a hyperreal experience and is most likely to be satisfied with the whole journey. On the other hand if the expectations are not met during the visit the tourist is likely to feel dissatisfied (Carl et al, 2007).

In a way tourism has become a playground for hyperreal, where being part of a fantasy or myth is possible and becomes 'real' for the experiencing tourist. When the experience is hypereal the journey will be successful and an authentic experience attainable.

To conclude, I find this subject very interesting and you have represented well the subject. I would have hoped more about the experience of hyperreal to be present, but overall, well done.


Buchmann, A., Moore, K. Fisher, D. (2009), Experiencing Film Tourism, Annals of Tourism Research, doi:10.1016/j.annals.2009.09.005

Carl, D., Kindon, S. and Smith, K. (2007), Tourists' Experiences of Film Locations: New Zealand as 'Middle-Earth', Tourism Geographies, vol. 9 (no. 1), pp. 49-63.

Urry, J. (1988), Cultural Change and Contemporary Holiday-making, Theory, Culture & Sociaty, vol. 5, pp. 35-55.

Your paper is very interesting and comprehensible because it explains the difficult concept of 'hyperreality' well and illustratively applies it to the industry of film tourism. You did a lot of research on it and I think the examples used are well chosen. I really like your argument that film tourism can provide an escape route for tourists from their everyday lives because it gives them the opportunity to dive into a world of fantasy and dreams.

Movies and TV programmes inspire people and many dream of visiting the exciting world of Disney, Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings to escape the boring routine of their normal lives. Campbell (1987, cited in Urry, 2002, p. 13) argues that 'covert day-dreaming and anticipation are processes central to modern consumerism' and both Urry (2002, p. 3) and Selby (2004, p. 74) mention day-dreaming as being central to contemporary tourism. If some tourists then decide to make their dreams come true, they have high expectations which can only be fulfilled by simulations of the movie scenery and, as you have pointed out, this is the point when the tourists enter into a 'hyperreality'.

But with such big expectations the risk of getting disappointed is quite high. Is it possible that even the 'hyperreal' is not good enough and that visiting Disneyland and the film set of Lord of the Rings brings us back to reality - the reality that after all, life will never be like it is in the movies?

Connell (2009, p. 6) mentions a 'gap in the research literature with regard to the on-site experiences of screen tourists' and concludes that 'further research is needed to understand screen tourism experiences in destinations.' In her studies on tourists' experiences in the filming location for the children's TV show Balamory in Scotland, she found that some tourists have been disappointed by the experience because they wanted it to be 'more like the show' or 'more like Disney' (p. 24). She also mentions Carl, Kindon and Smith (2007) who, in their research on Lord of the Rings, came to similar conclusions.

Some tourists might be disappointed because all that is left from the movie scenery are empty streets and houses without the characters, which means that all the movie magic of their fantasies is gone. Mayer (2002) points out that, after all, Disney worlds are 'as much about buying as they are about entertainment' (Ellwood, 2002, cited in Mayer, 2002, p. 4) - a money-making machine, which, once realised by the tourist, might also lead to disappointment.

The point I am trying to make is that the 'hyperreality' of film tourism can definitely offer the tourist a short-term escape route from everyday life but one might want to do some research on the destination beforehand to make sure that expectations are not too high and to avoid a disappointment that, in the worst case, might even affect the tourists' love for the movies.


References:

Urry, J. (2002) The tourist gaze. 2nd ed. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.

Selby, M. (2004) Understanding Urban Tourism: Image, Culture and Experience (Tourism, Retailing and Consumption). London: I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd.

Connell, J. (2009) 'Balamory revisited': An evaluation of the screen tourism destination - tourist nexus. Tourism Management, 30 (2), p. 194-207.

Mayer, F. (2002) The Disney Theme Parks: Home to the Mouse, Hyperreality and Consumerism. Norderstedt, Germany: GRIN Verlag.

I have chosen this report to comment on because my discussion paper is also about film induced tourism and therefore I have some knowledge about this topic.
Film induced tourism is a very interesting area in the tourism industry with a growing significance as this paper indicates (Bolan and Williams, 2008).

This conference paper is well structured and shows that the author has researched carefully and gathered a lot of information about film induced tourism and other influencing aspects. Also, it mentions several points of interest like issues of hyper-reality which is described as "an important concept" in this context. I totally agree that tourists enter a "hyper-real world" once they visit the former film location especially if a fantasy movie such as the given examples of Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings has been shot there (Baudrillard, 1929). When having the first hand experience and visiting the site they become part of the world which they have seen on screen before. In relation to this it would have been interesting to know if their expectations were met in seeing what the "real" location looks like in contrast to the pictures shown on screen and if so to what extend was their longing to be part of the world satisfied (Beeton, 2008).
Another important topic which has been raised is authenticity and how real the experience is although the movie which was shot there might only be of fictional character. This however was only mentioned briefly and I would very much like to know more about the author's opinion on this particular issue since the conference paper did not go into detail here.
Also, I would like to point out that choosing Disneyland as an example is very good indeed because, as mentioned it is a completely fictional world which has been made "real" though not authentic and is attracting high numbers of visitors nonetheless and proves that we are living in a "society of spectacle" (Debord, 1998) and entertainment.
The example of the Harry Potter Saga was very well chosen as well since tourism increased due to the sudden interest in England as a tourist destination based on the shown landscapes and attractions in the movies (Young and Young, 2008).
It was interesting to read this conference paper also because it made me aware of aspects of film induced tourism which I have not paid so much attention to before like the pull and push factors by Macionis (Macionis, 2004).

To come to a conclusion it can be said that this paperwork analysed how much movies influence the tourist behaviour, often it is to such an extent as to people visiting former film locations which can lead to a general improvement of the economic situation of the destination as it was and still is for New Zealand because of Lord of the Rings (Bolan and Williams, 2008). And even though the places have been visited before, the awareness is raised clearly by films and enticing tourists (Young and Young, 2008).


References

Beeton, S. (2008). Location, Location, Location: Film Corporations´ Social Responsibilities. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 24, (2-3), 107-114.


Bolan, P. and Williams, L. (2008) The Role of image in service promotion: focusing on the influence of film and consumer choice within the tourism, International Journal of Consumer Studies, 32 pp. 382 - 390


Young, A. F; Young, R. (2008). Measuring the Effects of Film and Television on Tourism to Screen Locations: A Theoretical and Empirical Perspective. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 24, (2-3), 195-212.