IN THE MOVIES
In The Movies
From Bilbo Baggins in New Zealand to James Bond in Brazil, the silver
screen can provide the plot to hook long haul travellers, says Nicki Grihault
I
t is 50 years since James Bond’s silver screen debut and the 23rd Bond fi lm, Skyfall, released in October, is 2012’s biggest UK box offi ce success so far. Cinema’s charasmatic set-jetter has provided a hook for long haul destinations in 2012, from Sunvil Traveller’s nine-night Moonraker Brazil trip (from £2,445pp featuring fi lm sites in Rio de Janeiro and the iconic Iguaçu Falls) to ‘Bond’s Japan’, (a 13-night itinerary from InsideJapan Tours from £2,125pp, inspired by 1967’s You Only Live Twice).
While half a century ago mere
mortals could only dream of travelling in 007’s footsteps, TV shows and fi lms are now the third key infl uencer on holiday decisions after ‘family and friends’ and the ‘Internet’, according to FutureBrand. Film is central to our leisure
Main picture: Hobbiton, New Zealand From left: Iguaçu Falls in Michael
Palin’s Brazil; Great Gatsby, set in New York; Danny Boyle’s Indian-set Best
Exotic Marigold Hotel; Lincoln, inspired by Illinois, set in Virginia; North
Carolina-set Hunger Games; and Dirty Dancing; Utah-set Lone Ranger; Bond’s latest Skyfall was set in Macau and Istanbul; The Hunter, set in Tasmania
experience and innovations – such as 3DTV and Google TV – help to cocoon us in our homes, while mobile devices encourage our fi lm habit on the move. Film acts as a powerful virtual brochure and can put a destination on a client’s ‘shopping list’, according to
Mintel’s Set-Jetting Tourism, April, 2012. Most studies estimate a four-10%
average increase to a region – more to a featured location or attraction – on the back of a successful fi lm. And savvy tourist boards now launch marketing campaigns – using microsites, competitions driven by social media, online itineraries and movie maps – to coincide with new releases, TV shows or documentaries, making it easier to sell fi lm-inspired packages. “There is no doubt that big movies help promote holidays and sales to destinations,” says Karen Joyce, General Manager at Austravel. “We’ve seen a surge in holiday enquiries to New Zealand, particularly self-drives and independent touring, following the publicity around the The Hobbit, released this December.” Tourism Tasmania successfully promoted The Hunter, a search for the last Tasmanian tiger, starring Willem Dafoe which was released in July, 2012 with a themed package from Wildlife & Wilderness. Even airlines are getting involved, with Jet Airways highlighting Indian
destinations Kerala and Pondicherry featured in the magical adventure The Life of Pi, about a shipwrecked Indian zookeeper’s son on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger, due to be released on December 20. The right fi lm can reinforce tourism
to a destination, like Danny Boyle’s successful The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which sent lucrative silver set- jetters to ‘fi nd themselves’ in India. It can also highlight lesser-known
areas. For example, St John’s, the capital of Newfoundland in Atlantic Canada, will be in the movie spotlight in 2013 with the remake of French comedy The Grand Seduction. As the world’s largest fi lm-set, US destinations offer plentiful movie tie-ins past, present and future. Sci-fi fl ick The Hunger Games is the latest fi m shot in North Carolina. Hunger Games weekends are proving popular. The state has a rich history of being the backdrop to movies, with Last of the Mohicans, Dirty Dancing, Cape Fear and Nell among its other credits. Bookings to Colorado shot up by 30% following the joint UK campaign by
TUMBLR.COM
WANNAGOTOTHEMOVIES.COM
MATTHEW COMER ILLINOIS OFFICE OF TOURISM
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 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72