Impact of Media & Entertainment Industry on Tourism Economy & Cultural Branding

 

Impact of Media & Entertainment Industry on Tourism Economy & Cultural Branding

 

Have you ever thought of the power of cinematic visuals? I believe most of us have not measured or thought of it in quantifying or numeric terms but we all know how it impacts us emotionally, psychologically, socially, and personally. Right from growing up years to adulthood to parenthood, we treasure certain scenes of our favorite movies and TV series that stick with us forever. But the story does not end there rather begins from here. The human desire to live life like their favorite characters in cinema is deeply rooted despite knowing its fictional and often disconnected nature from real life. However, interactive, friendly, and handy screen exposure infuses the desire to be at places shown in their favorite visuals of the films and hence the passion and thirst for travel begin. When you cannot live the life of your favorite characters, you suffice that desire by traveling to those locations where scenes of movies were shot. In this age of social media, this has become trendy and relevant where sharing moments is at your fingertips with access to the internet and smartphones. Access to the internet and penetration of popular social media platforms have added taste buds in the travel of individuals to their favorite locations. Now, we are not only dependent on movies and TV series to get inspired for travel but also through social media sharing by friends and loved ones on these platforms.

Tourism undoubtedly is essential and integral part of any economy around the world and certainly needs holistic, well-thought-out policies in place to promote it. This could be done through the media and entertainment industry or other channels. We know there are countries in the world that solely depend on tourism or it has a substantially large share in their economy. For such countries, it is even more important to promote and market their country in 24X7 mode and attract travelers from around the world. 

​Historically, travel has been a primary source of human progress and enlightenment in the world from ancient to modern times. We know about popular travelers who didn’t travel because of any cinema but need for their survival and turn their dependence into independence. I am referring to Vasco De Gama and Columbus in particular, however, there are many worth mentioning here. In my opinion, their travel has changed the whole landscape of the world establishing their countries and the region as navigators of world trade and politics. Just to begin, let me share some inspiring quotes on travel to set the tone of this article.

“Don’t tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you have travelled.” Muhammad (Prophet of Islam)

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.” Mark Twain

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” Saint Augustine

“Travel makes one modest, you see what a small place you occupy in the world.”

It would be futile to talk about the importance of the media and entertainment industry, it is well-known and proven how effective and important the medium it is to influence the masses around the world. The screen-induced content in the form of attractive and well-narrated visuals with human characters is extremely impeccable. Therefore, it is prudent to measure and understand its impact on a specific sector of our economy and society. Its pervasive nature and psychological connection make it highly worthy and dynamic.

There are many popular media and entertainment industries in the world, but for the reference of our understanding let us list down a few and see how they contribute to different sectors beginning from tourism to employment generation and their monetary worth.

 

S.No	Film Industry	Country	Monetary Worth	Employment	Contribution to the Economy
1	Hollywood	USA	$42.5 billion (2019)	2.5 million	According to a report by the Motion Picture Association, the film and television industry contributed $244 billion to the US economy in 2019.
2	Bollywood	India	$2.5 billion (2020)	2 million	According to a report by the Confederation of Indian Industry and Ernst & Young, the Indian film industry, including both Bollywood and regional films, contributed approximately $32 billion to the Indian economy in 2020.
3	Nollywood	Nigeria	$430 million (2020)	2,17000	According to the report by the National Bureau of Statistics, the Nigerian film industry contributed around $620 million to the Nigerian economy in 2020.
4	Korean Cinema	South Korea	$767 million	3,15,400	$7.53 billion is monetary contribution in the national economy (2018)
5	Chinese Cinema	China	$4.65 billion	9,70,000	It contributes 104 billion Yuan (0.7% of total revenue) in China’s economy.
6	Japanese Cinema	Japan	$1.1 billion	1,32,800	It contributes about $10 billion which is around 0.2% of the total GDP
7	French Cinema	France	€8.4 billion (2019)	100,000	According to data from the French government, the French film industry contributes around $5 billion to the French economy every year.
8	British Cinema	Britain	£6.27 billion (2023)	166,200	As per the British Film Institute, the industry contributed £4.6 billion to the UK economy in 2019.
9	Iranian Cinema	Iran	$43.22 million(2017)	130,000	According to Islamic Republic News Agency the industry contributed about 0.4% of Iran’s GDP (2019).
10	Mexican Cinema	Mexico	$1.08 billion (2020)	28,500	According to Mexican Film Institute report published in 2021, the film industry contributed approximately 0.1% in its GDP.
11	Italian Cinema	Italy	$597 million (2019)	17,000	Data not available
12	German Cinema	Germany	€23.9 billion (2019)	286,000	According to the latest available data from 2020, the industry contributed around €16.1 billion to the German GDP.

Source: Google generic data

 

It is difficult to find an accurate collection of such data, however, to reflect on the importance of the topic, I have done this through Google to help the readers understand not just conceptually but also numerically. It shows how the media and entertainment industry contributes to different sectors of the economy other than cultural export and branding. The objective of this statistical presentation is to stress the importance and attention that Media & Entertainment industry needs to keep boosting tourism around the world. It is not essentially only tourism, but as mentioned in quotes the importance of travel is still relevant to keep the world in peace and order. The more exposure you have the better you become.

 

Film Tourism Impact

S. No	Film or TV Series	Location	Country	Impact on visitors number and Tourism Revenue
1	Braveheart	Wallace Monument	Scotland	300% increase in visitors year after the release
2	Bailando con lobos	Fort Hayes, Kansas	USA	25% increase compared with7% for previous 4 years
3	Close Encounters of the Third Kind	Devils Towers, Wyoming		75% increase in 1975 20% visit now because of the film
4	Thelma & Louis	Arches National Monument in Moab, Utah		19.1% increase in 1991
5	Field of Dreams	Iowa		35,000 visits in 1991, steady increase every year
6	Dallas	Sothfork Ranch, Dallas		500,000 visitors every year
7	The Lord of the Rings		New Zealand	10% increase every year 1998 to 2003 from UK
8	Steel Magnolias	Louisiana	USA	48% increase year after the release
9	Last of the Mohicans	Chimney Rock Park,	North Carolina, USA	25% increase year after the release
10	The Fugitive	Dillsboro	North Carolina, USA	11% increase year after the release
11	Little Women	Orchard House, Concord	Massachusetts USA	65% increase year after the release
12	Bull Durham	Durham	North Carolina, USA	25% increase in attendance year after release
13	Harry Potter	various locations in UK	UK	All locations saw more than 50% after release
14	Mission: Impossible 2	National Parks, Sidney	Australia	200% increase in 2000
15	Gorillas in the Mist		Rwanda	20% increase in 1998
16	Crocodile Dundee		Australia	20.5% in US visitors 1981 to 1988
17	The Beach		Thailand	22% increase in youth market in 2000
18	All Creatures Great & Small	Yorkshire Dales		Generated 5m pounds for Yorkshire Dales
19	To the Manor Born	Cricket, St. Thomas, Leisure Park	England	37% increase between 1978 to 1980
20	Four Weddings & a Funeral	The Crown Hotel, Amersham	England	Fully booked for at least 3 years
21	Mrs. Brown	Osborne House, Isle of Wight	UK	25% increase
22	Notting Hill	Kenwood House	England	10% in one month
23	Saving Private Ryan	Normandy	France	40% increase in American tourists
24	Sense & Sensibility	Lyme Park in Cheshire	UK	150% increase in visitors
25	Miami Vice	Miami	USA	150% increase in German visitors 1985 to 1988
26	Forrest Gump	Savannah	Georgia	7% increase in tourism
27	Troy	Canakkale	Turkey	73% increase in tourism
28	Captain Corelli's	Cephalonia	Greece	50% increase over 3 years

 

Source: Academy of Strategic Management Journal

 

​How & Why shall it matter to incorporate the media & entertainment industry to boost other sectors and in this case, tourism?

Well, perception building is something that ensures a long-term return. The more you invest in perception building the longer return you will have. However, this cannot be done overnight rather it requires a holistic and long-term strategy considering all possible platforms where a mass following can be created. The most effective tool is the mass media which includes social media, mainstream media (media & entertainment) and print media, etc.

In this age of information and misinformation, it is of utmost importance to design and execute well-researched policies that are friendly and welcoming to people from around the world. Creating cultural learning spaces like museums and open theatres, and interactive displays on common points highlighting historic and cultural value will definitely stimulate curiosity among the masses. Countries around the world must make inbound and outbound tourism lucrative for travelers and travel facilitators (travel agents, aviation industry, hotels, restaurants, artists, and all stakeholders of the industry) so that learning and exchanging of ideas and thoughts can continue and we keep respecting the differences and richness of different cultures of this beautiful planet.

 

By Mohd. Asif Ali Founder of RareStories