Movie Locations SILVER SERVICE
From New Zealand to Thailand to Cuba, destinations around the globe are cashing in on curious visitors lured by familiar backdrops drawn large on the silver screen, says Nicki Grihault
to 'silver set jetters'. What's more, four of the world's five major movie-making locations – the US, New Zealand, the Bahamas and Hawaii – are long haul destinations. New movie releases every week and a 100-year history, offers scope for selling holidays from Antarctica to Rwanda. Often based on a bestselling book, the
“I
"Movies have helped many regions of Latin America open up"
56 December 2011 •
www.sellinglonghaul.com
f you film it, they will come,” joked Tony Reeves in The Worldwide Guide to Movie
Locations in 2003. 'Set-jetting', 'cinema siteseeing' and 'blockbuster breaks' are now the norm for contemporary cultural travellers – the silver screen inspiration for their next escape. According to Anholt Nations Brand
Index (NBI) some 40% of potential visitors are ‘very likely’ to visit places seen in movies or on TV and 27% of UK holiday plans are influenced by books, TV or movies. Movie locations report a 30% increase
in holiday bookings in the wake of a movie release and, movie audiences - and potential clients – range from tots
right movie can draw visitors to lesser known places, provide original themes – or a new and exciting twist on an old one, encourage travel off season or entice a new client group. Last year's Eat, Pray, Love sent spiritual female singletons scurrying to Ubud, Bali. Bradley Cooper's description of Bangkok as 'like Vegas on Steroids', in this year's Hangover 11 may prove a magnet for stag parties, while Madagascar 3, released this October, reminded families of its cute lemurs. Tour operators are increasingly
proactive, highlighting movies in brochures and designing/promoting tours along with new releases. Travelzest offers tailor-made film- themed packages from Cuba to Bali; Funway Holidays is tempting families
to Clearwater's beaches in Florida, where children can meet the star of Dolphin Tale in the Aquarium; America As You Like It is offering a nine-night fly-drive on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State with the release of Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 last month (November), including key movie sites Forks, where visitor numbers have increased sevenfold, and Port Angeles. Hotel movie links range from the British Colonial Hilton in Nassau, where James Bond sipped his first martini (shaken not stirred) in Thunderball, to Aqua Hotels and Resorts' Ilikai Hotel & Suites, Honolulu ,seen in the opening shot of the original Hawaii Five-O TV series. "Movies have helped many parts of
Latin America to open up," says Simon Forster, Latin America product manager at Rainbow Tours, which targeted families around the animated movie, Rio, which shows the streets, beaches and jungles of Brazil,. Rainbow's new ‘Mayan World’ itinerary
in Mexico and Guatemala includes a hotel owned by Francis Ford Coppola near Tikal, the site which appeared in Mel Gibson's Apocalypto (2006). On the Road, based on Jack Kerouac’s
iconic adventures across 1950’s America and filmed in New Orleans, Mexico and
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68