Destination marketing through film-induced tourism: a case study of Otaru, Japan

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to test the utility of Pearce et al.'s (2003) framework on film tourism in Otaru, Japan. This framework involves marketing the attraction according to five stages: resource identification, marketing emphasis, interpretation, sales and merchandising and broader community use. The existing studies have failed to adapt this framework to films. Subsequently, this study uncovers the necessity of an additional stage involving sustainability aspects.Design/methodology/approachA case study method was adopted, and Otaru, Japan – a popular film location – was chosen. Semi-structured interviews with the major stakeholders of film tourism, such as film commissions, representatives of the film and the tourism industries, tourists and the community, were conducted, and the participants were observed. Data were collected using the snowball sampling technique.FindingsThe study reveals that Pearce et al.'s (2003) model is applicable to film tourism by adding a sixth stage to address sustainability, such as the issue of overtourism.Practical implicationsThe transferability of the framework to different film tourism cases is plausible. It is also critical for governments and tourism practitioners to consider the community's perspective for sustainability and maximize the use of films as promotional tools for destinations.Originality/valueThis study is the first to apply Pearce et al.'s (2003) model to film tourism, adding value to the literature by extending the framework to include an additional sixth stage to address sustainability.

Mapping of Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights themes: a retrospective overview

“…A total of 1,178 keywords were used between 2018 and 2022 by the authors in JHTI to compose their research articles. For instance, previous studies published in JHTI have addressed medical tourism (Ediansyah et al ., 2022), Covid-19 (Khawaja et al ., 2022; Shukla et al ., 2022; Şengel et al ., 2023), satisfaction (Feng et al ., 2021; Genc and Gulertekin Genc, 2022), trust (Boğan and Dedeoğlu, 2019; Ahn and Kwon, 2020), motivation (Shi et al ., 2019; Omo-Obas and Anning-Dorson, 2022), attitude (Wan et al ., 2022), perceived value (Duong et al ., 2022) behavioural intention (Çelik and Dedeoğlu, 2019), social media (Ampountolas et al ., 2019), destination marketing (Nakayama, 2022), destination image (Karri and Dogra, 2022; Uner et al ., 2022) and authenticity (Genc and Gulertekin Genc, 2022). In the meantime, Pang and Zhang (2019) argue that keywords appearing over four times reflect the overall scope well.…”

Destination stereotypes: a phenomenon of destination image

“…However, by considering DS and addressing the prime cause of such a perception, DI can be altered for good and more importantly in an effective manner. DMOs upon the identification of the source, might turn towards IFAs (informational sources) such as films, news articles, documentaries (Hankinson, 2004), WoM, e-WOM (Dogra and Karri, 2020; Ferrer-Rosell and Marine-Roig, 2020), film-location maps and merchandising (Nakayama, 2022) which are all highly credible and capable of transforming an existing image. While the application of this is questionable in prominent tourist zones with greater cognizance, it is of high relevance in countries which have a vast untapped tourism potential and limited awareness.…”

Antecedents influence choosing tourism destination post-COVID-19: young people case

“…Another study by Nakayama (2022) discovered that a location's tourist attractions are connected to its music and film industry. Residents recognize that landmarks associated with popular music and movies can become tourist destinations.…”

“…Residents recognize that landmarks associated with popular music and movies can become tourist destinations. The music can be used to advertise the travel destinations, and movies can act as a metaphor to enhance the destination image and draw visitors to the shooting location (Nakayama, 2022). To build connections between tourists and tourist destinations, environmentally conscious operations (ECOs) also promote a positive destination image.…”