Trazee In-Depth: Movie Tourism

Anyone watching a movie wondering where it was filmed knows cinema can be some of the best tourism advertising money can buy. Watching characters in a film live in bustling cities or traveling to far-off destinations motivates and inspires the traveler in all of us.

Some film settings are so central to the storyline, as London is to Sherlock Holmes or New York City is to Sex and the City, they inspire themed travel for fans. However vital to storytelling, these cities are already among some of the most traveled in the world for reasons greater than film locations alone.

The truly inspirational locations are the unfamiliar or less-visited areas that see booming tourism after a film.

An example of cinematically-encouraged travel is The Lord of the Rings trilogy, filmed entirely in New Zealand. Since the first The Lord of the Rings movie was released in 2001, New Zealand has seen an incredible boost in tourism.

In 2012, New Zealand’s tourism general manager of western markets stated, in a Forbes interview, there had been a 50 percent increase in tourism since the first film’s debut.

The beautiful, almost otherworldly landscape of New Zealand has since attracted many films, such as Avatar, and continues to grow, whether specific to the film or just inspired by the landscape’s beauty. The tourism industry in New Zealand is now the second-largest business in the country, after dairy production.

Hobbiton in Matamata, New Zealand © Krug100 | Dreamstime

More recently made famous with help of the film industry is Iceland, partly in thanks to The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. This 2013 fantasy-adventure-meets-reality story was primarily filmed in Iceland and some in Greenland. Since the film’s release, tourism to Iceland increased so much the travel industry created a self-drive Walter Mitty-themed tour.

The incredible scenery displayed in the film was featured in one of Walter’s dream sequences and Iceland has become one of the top bucket-list destinations in just a few short years.

The cost of filming can significantly affect where production can take place. One of the many reasons why Ireland sees so much movie-making traffic, in addition to the incredible landscape, is the affordability. The Republic of Ireland provides large tax breaks for the arts in exchange for the invaluable exposure the travel industry receives. Although set in the highlands of Scotland, Braveheart was primarily filmed in Dublin, County Meath and Wicklow, Ireland.

Tourism to Ireland has been driven in part by HBO’s hit show Game of Thrones. Locations in Ireland have been in such high demand, travelers can expect specific tours to the now famous filming locations.

With such an expansive, fictional world like Westeros, many filming locations are required to produce Game of Thrones. Northern Ireland, especially Belfast, has benefitted from increased tourism thanks to the show.

Located near Stanocum in Northern Ireland is a tree-lined road used in the show as King’s Road. Known as the Dark Hedges, this once unassuming, but beautiful, road is now a popular tourist destination. Fans of the show can pose for photos and take a drive down King’s Road. The Stangford Castle of Ward Estate poses as the show’s famous family home, House Stark of Winterfell, and is located just around the corner from Dark Hedges in County Down.

© Remus Pereni | Flickr

Iceland, Morocco and Croatia have also made important appearances on the show and have naturally provided travel inspiration for millions of viewers.

For nature lovers and adventure seekers, Wild and Into the Wild played a large role in U.S. tourism. Both true stories and both film adaptations from a book, Into the Wild and Wild showcase the rugged and free American landscape.

Into the Wild drove tourism to Alaska since 2007 to see the magic bus depicted in the film. The open wilderness and vast terrain of Alaska played a large role in the film.

Wild, starring Reese Witherspoon, shows the incredibly diverse Pacific Northwest, from California to Portland, Ore. The movie was filmed on location, mostly in Oregon. The most iconic scenes in the film include shots of Crater Lake, Mount Hood, Ashland, Smith Rock State Park and Portland. The Pacific Crest Trail scenes of the Mojave Desert in California provide an inspiring hiking challenge.

Tourism advertising by way of cinematic expression remains a clear and growing benefit to the tourism industry.