If you want to hike along some of Europe’s most exquisite coastal trails, or ramble across mountain ranges that feel like they’re on another planet, we’ve got you. If you want a Game of Thrones tour around Ireland or Croatia, we definitely haven’t GOT you. We can take you to places that are for real, not for reels. They are natural adventures, not fake or fantasy ones. And yet the world of movie tourism, a bandwagon that is often jumped on by tourist boards and social media influencers, is growing, and risks having a negative impact on certain destinations.
Fad tourism is bad tourism
At The Natural Adventure we are proponents of responsible tourism and strive to spread the word wherever we can about small, and not so small ways that we can have a positive impact on our travels. We are also fans of great movies – who isn’t? But when tourist boards pour money into promoting their destination, based solely on a latest blockbuster, or top TV show, it’s diverting attention and resources from sustainable tourism initiatives that are worthy of support and promotion. We mean initiatives that are playing the long game, rather than flying in, creating a fun but potentially faddish film, then sailing off again to the next set. Leaving the rocky waves of movie tourism in their wake.
Location, location, location
Film tourism became popular in the 1950s and 1960s, with tours around Hollywood homes, and the arrival of film theme parks such as Disneyland (1955). Of course, literary greats played a role in tourism long before that. What would Stratford-upon-Avon be without Shakespeare or the Lake District without Wordsworth? And of course Jane Austen’s books fictionalise much of Cotswolds’ life at the turn of the 19th century, with fans following in her footsteps. You’d also be remiss not to read some WB Yeats or Seamus Heaney, to name just two of many local literary greats before visiting Ireland. And you can bathe in Japan’s quirky beauty long before you visit by immersing yourself in the work of Haruki Murakami. When it comes to film locations, however, you may be disappointed, and a lot more overcrowded when you get there.
Fans of the award-winning Banshees of Inisherin, for example, won’t find this fictional island on a map of Ireland. And if you go to the island of Achill, where most of it was shot, the famous pub doesn’t actually exist, as it was a set that was built on a cliff and then taken down after the film wrapped. A fact that shocked Taylor Swift, who said that she would support having the pub rebuilt as she loved the film so much. Pretty sure that if Ms. Swift visited the island, met some real islanders who have created their sustainable and community-led projects based on their actual heritage, rather than a scripted one, she’d enjoy it more than Hollywood’s film fakery. And yet tourist boards, influencers and celebrities jump up and down with excitement about the movie-effect, sending people to fictional places when real life is much more deserving of attention.
It’s a numbers game
One of the problems with movie tourism is that some people who live or work in film locations get starstruck, while also seeing an opportunity to cash in on the tourist buck. And this includes tourism boards. What many travellers don’t realise is that many tourism boards, who in turn usually report to tourism ministries, gauge their success by tourist numbers. That’s why giant cruise ships are welcomed into so many destinations. They pollute the ports, they pay little to clean it up, but they bring in thousands of tourists.
Consequently, if tourist boards (and influencers whom they support) put all their energy into bringing thousands of people into the small town in Sicily where the hit TV series The White Lotus was filmed, or the quiet town on the Amalfi Coast where Netflix’ recent Ripley series was shot, they’re leaving so many other places in the shadows. They’re also contributing to potential overtourism. Of course, we know how to take you off the beaten path in both Sicily or Amalfi, but we’re just a small fish in the world of responsible tourism. And we think that those big players could do better.
“Airbnb recorded a 93% increase in bookings to the Atrani area after the release of Ripley this month.” – The Guardian, April 2024.
When the carnival of movie tourism leaves town
The other issue is that when the red carpets have been rolled back in and the awards season is over, small destinations that had their moment in the limelight are left to deal with the aftermath. Such as in Thailand, where the national parks authority had to temporarily close Maya Bay, a cove on the island of Phi Phi Leh, which featured in the iconic film, The Beach, when over 5,000 visitors piled in for a selfie on a daily basis. The islanders of the Greek island of Skopelos aren’t amused either by tourists who burst into Abba songs as they jump off the island ferry. Or aren’t allowed to get married in their tiny church because they aren’t Greek Orthodox. Mamma Mia may have had its moments in the sun, but the real islanders are still paying for it. If you want to spend your money, money, money on an array of other quieter Greek Islands, read more here.
Shining a new light on lesser-known places
As long as it’s handled carefully and sustainably, TV or movie tourism can have a good impact of course. But it’s a fine line with film. Fans of the Nordic Noir TV series, The Bridge, which links Denmark and Sweden, may never have realised that you can access both countries so easily and that you can, in fact, cycle around both their coasts too. With the help of the bridge in question. The New Zealand Tourist Board did a very good job bringing remote corners of their islands to a vast new audience, after the Lord of the Rings trilogy hit the screens, with small places like the Waikato town of Matamata, otherwise known as the village of Hobbiton, being put on the map. A whole new generation woke up to the wonders of New Zealand, after this one dedicated Kiwi filmmaker loyally used his home country to create some magic. And, as it was handled wisely by the tourist board, hikers not hobbits, cyclists rather than spirits, still go in search of the magic.
Changing the lens
Movies happen, we get that. However, our reason for giving the movie tourism fallout a bad review is because ultimately it makes you see a place through a very different lens. Albeit often skilfully shot, creatively edited and designed to the hilt. However, destinations can rarely live up to this image, and risk being badly reviewed for not living up to the star performance given in the movies.
Most importantly, it’s often the case that local people are only given the role of extras in movies. They are peripheral, irrelevant and, more often than not, caricatured. By treating local people as extras, the movie industry feeds into the negative narrative that communities who live in these places don’t really matter. And, as one of our pillars of responsible tourism is people, we fundamentally believe that they are at the heart of a memorable travel experience. If we arrive into their homelands in search of fantasy and moviescapes, it doesn’t bode well. By pulling focus on local people, and trying to see life through their lens rather than a cinematic one, we can experience the best picture, top cast and best cinematography, all rolled into one. And leave us begging for a sequel.
