Film-Induced Tourism and the New Cultural Economy

At the recent launch of UNESCO’s Global Report: Re|Shaping Policies for Creativity, Ms. Ekaterina Travkina , Coordinator for Culture, Creative Industries and Global Events at the OECD, highlighted that Culture is now recognized across all ministries as an economic sector. Diana Crane too, reiterates this statement in her article for the International Journal of Cultural Policy - Cultural Policy is an important element of globalisation. This is particularly true of cultural products such as films and television shows. Culture travels and so do movies, and the ones which find success outside of their country of origin, often serve as a gateway to be acquainted with, explore and learn about a new culture. 

As a collaborative art form, films can blend customs, language, clothes, food effortlessly within the story, which can introduce viewers to a more multifaceted view of the place it is portraying. For example, last year’s surprise hit, Netflix’s K-pop Demon Hunters - an animated film which revolved around K-pop singers who moonlighted as demon-slayers - introduced viewers to Korean culture, songs, food, mythology and distinct entertainment practices such as music banks and fansigns. Within 2 months of its release, the movie caused an exponential increase in bookings and spending by foreign tourists, with many eager to explore the cultural aspects portrayed in the film, such as wearing the traditional Korean dress, Hanbok, visiting a jjimjilbang (Korean Sauna), trying authentic Korean food such as seolleongtang (beef bone soup), eomukguk (fishcake soup) and sundae (blood sausage), and taking K-pop dance classes and visiting concerts. 

This phenomenon is described as ‘Film-induced tourism’, a distinct branch of tourism, where fans wish to visit and experience the popular locations where the film was shot. Through movies, viewers can establish, recognise and form an emotional attachment towards the cities, sights, sounds and flavours they portray, which results in economic benefits from large visitor numbers and a free and far-reaching publicity of the local culture. They can introduce and enhance the audience’s awareness of the place and culture and when the audience gains a strong, emotional attachment to this cinematic landscape, they might be induced to visit the scene of action. As explained above, this can include (but is not limited to) visiting historic sites and museums, immersing in cultural activities and buying merchandise.   

A similar sensation took place in China last year too, when Ne Zha 2, - another animated film chronicling the adventures of the Chinese mythology figure - became the highest grossing film of 2025, beating many of its Hollywood counterparts. Fans rushed to visit the many sites portrayed in the film in Tianjin and Sichuan province, resulting in a 30% surge in visitor traffic. As a consequence, businesses in both provinces have incorporated the film’s characters and cuisines in their menus and introduced several Ne Zha-themed experiential routes.  Han Yuanjun, an associate researcher with the China Tourism Academy, states that Film-induced tourism is rapidly growing  in China’s travel industry and has been recognised to not only bring traffic to underrated travel destinations but also significantly enhance their brand values. 

The success of Ne Zha 2 has proven that movies are now an essential part of the travel decision-making process and thus, following the film’s catalytic success, China has launched the China Travel with Chinese Films initiative, which aims to utilise the international success of  its films with the recent visa-free transit policies to attract more overseas visitors to China. The initiative aims to simultaneously promote Chinese films and tourism, encouraging viewers to visit the sites portrayed in the film, thereby, converting the passive act of watching a film, to an active experience of travel and culture immersion. 

The initiative aims to  foster innovative collaboration between the film and tourism industries, to offer immersive experience on both movie culture and China's natural and cultural landscapes, effectively linking media exposure with consumer engagement.

While K-pop Demon Hunters was an American production, South Korea has taken the popularity of the film as an opportunity to conquer global markets and strengthen its authority internationally.  For the past fifteen years, the country has treated movies and television shows as a part of its cultural policy framework. Even before the advent of streaming services, the government has continuously funded exports of Korean Dramas overseas, where the viewer is not only exposed to Korean storytelling, sites, culture and language, but also electronic, skincare and food products from Korean companies, which prompt viewers to buy their products. For example, after K-dramas gained popularity in India during the pandemic lockdown, Korean noodles alone enjoyed a 162% increase in volume in 2020 and a 178% increase in 2021.

Entry barriers in the cultural industries are much lower than in other sectors of the economy, but pop-culture receives more attention than the other more traditional industries and is more accessible and attractive,and thus, the South Korean and Chinese government, are utilising film and television shows as a principal part of their culture. It is seen as a key area for the government to invest in, develop and promote, as it fosters creativity, popularises local culture, enhances entrepreneurship, stimulates foreign trade and generates national income, and thus, is considered as a combination of industry, business and culture. 

Culture, when treated as a resource, can be transformed into capital that can play an important role in the strategy of sustainable development, at the local, national and international level. But most importantly, it strengthens and broadens the existing culture. 

Closer home, Kerala launched the ‘Cinema Tourism Project’ in 2023, which aims to use film-induced tourism and destination branding to attract tourists and production houses (with tax benefits and incentives). The Kerala State Film Development Corporation has also launched the International Film Market of Kerala, which endeavours to connect regional filmmakers with global co-production and financing opportunities, intersecting business with culture. The Corporation is also working on a Cinema Policy with the Centre for Public Policy Research, which strives to focus on skill development and sustainable tourism and social development within the framework of its policy. 

In recent years, Indian films has seen success and popularity on the international stage with RRR winning an Oscar and a Golden Globe, All We Imagine as Light becoming the first Indian film to win the Grand Prix at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, Kalki 2898 AD becoming the first Indian film to have an official reveal at the San Diego Comic-Con in 2023 and very recently, the Manipuri film Boong won a BAFTA, a first for India in its category. Our cultural policies need to utilise our film's successes to entice viewers, both domestic and foreign, to learn about and engage with the diverse culture of our country. Film production and distribution needs to go hand-in-hand with support for a more diverse range of stories, funding to participate and promote at national and international film festivals, development and promotion of cultural plazas and creative hubs, which would help integrate culture with innovation and business, so that both the economy and culture can grow alongside each other.