International Journal of Consumer Studies ISSN 1470-6423

The role of image in service promotion: focusing on the

influence of film on consumer choice within tourism
Peter Bolan1 and Lindsay Williams2
1
International Travel and Tourism, School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, University of Ulster, Coleraine, UK
2
Department of Marketing and Operations Management, Wheatley Campus, Oxford Brookes Business School, Oxford, UK

Keywords
Consumer choice, film, image, marketing,
media, tourism, travel.
Correspondence
Peter Bolan, School of Hospitality and
Tourism Management, University of Ulster,
Coleraine, BT 52 1SA, Northern Ireland, UK.
E-mail: ps.bolan@ulster.ac.uk
doi: 10.1111/j.1470-6431.2008.00672.x
Abstract
This paper presents a review and discussion of the role image plays in service promotion
and consumer choice in the context of film-induced tourism. Consumers can be very
sensitive to images which are important determinants of what a service customer pur-
chases. In relation to image, the medium of film can have a very influential impact on its
audience. Consumers may make purchase choices in a range of areas as a result of what
they have seen in the movies. An expanding body of literature suggests that film can
influence people’s travel decisions and entice them to visit particular destinations they have
seen on the cinema screen (reinforced through repeat viewing on video, DVD and televi-
sion). Tourism is a service industry. Does the image of a destination and how it is
represented help overcome some of the challenges of service marketing?
Many regions throughout the British Isles have seen their consumer appeal improve
because of their links with respective film and television productions. Although they have
benefited tourism-wise from this, in many cases there still has not been enough real support
from tourist authorities to this growth phenomenon, and as such, the full potential of film
to tap into the consumer psyche has not yet been fully realized. Academic discourse from
several disciplines is examined in this communication culminating in a conceptual model
of destination enhancement through film-induced image, featuring the conscious and
unconscious communication factors at work on two sets of consumers (film consumers and
destination consumers). As a ‘work in progress’, the paper sets the scene for further
empirical research in this interesting area of study.

Introduction
Tourism is a service industry; therefore, there are inherent chal-
lenges with service marketing that affect how the tourism product
is communicated to the consumer public. This paper examines the
role of ‘image’ in this communication process and investigates
such issues by examining the influence of media, and film in
particular, on consumer travel destination choices, focusing on key
examples in the UK and Ireland. According to Williams (2006),
tourism and hospitality have become key global economic activ-
ities as expectations with regard to our use of leisure time have
evolved, attributing greater meaning to our free time. This results
in marketing having potentially greater importance in tourism than
in other industries but sadly potential that is not always fulfilled
(Morgan and Pritchard, 2002). Williams (2006) believes that a
major reason for such unfulfilled potential lies in most tourism
marketing focusing on the destination or outlet (in other words the
products being offered) and lacking focus on the consumer. There-
fore, while Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs) may
already use a number of planned and controlled marketing activ-
ities, this paper purports that they could also exploit the ‘destina-
tion image enhancement’ opportunities that exist through the
medium of film.
Mercille (2005) in his work on media image on Tibet makes the
point that popular culture and other related forms of imagery have
a significant impact on destination image. This echoes the work of
both Butler (1990) in the tourism arena and Urry (1990) in the
social sciences literature. Urry (1990, p. 3) argues that the tourist
gaze is ‘. . . constructed and sustained through a variety of non-
tourist practices, such as film, TV, literature, magazines, records
and videos’. What Urry was advocating was that the image con-
sumers have of a place (tourist destination) in today’s modern
world is strongly formed and influenced by such media forms as
film and television.
The role of image in promotion within a service industry such
as tourism is of paramount importance in today’s competitive
marketplace. Consumers can make purchase decisions based on
the influence of image. As Morgan et al. (2003, p. 286) make
clear, ‘the need for destinations to portray a unique identity is
more crucial than ever’. Films (especially if high profile and

382 International Journal of Consumer Studies 32 (2008) 382–390 © The Authors

Journal compilation © 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
P. Bolan and L. Williams
commercially successful) can help establish such an identity (a
new brand image in a sense) and provide a platform to attract
interest to a tourist destination from a wide market base. If con-
sumers are strongly influenced by image, particularly that which is
portrayed through film and television, then the authors agree with
Williams (2006) that there is an argument for more focus to be
placed on the consumer and such forms of media that impact on
their purchase decisions.
Services marketing
There is, according to Clow et al. (2006, p. 404), a ‘difficulty in
communicating effectively the attributes of a service because of
the unique characteristics of services, especially intangibility’.
Indeed, the intangible nature of any service presents immense
challenges to marketers in so much as communicating a product’s
offering favourably to a potential market. Consider trying to com-
municate the thrill of a rollercoaster ride; the buzzing atmosphere
in a busy city restaurant; the range of emotions felt while watching
a theatre production. Travel-based products also have a uniqueness
in that they are not of a ‘tangible’ nature. Information and, to an
extent, image constitute the bulk of travel products and transac-
tions. Tourism and travel, as Zhou (2004) states, are about the
experiences and memories that tourists will have for a lifetime, but
there is an inherent difficulty in promoting something largely
intangible in this way.
‘Tangibilising the intangible’ (Levitt, 1981 cited in Kotler,
2000) to engage your target audience is understandably complex.
Visual images have, however, been recognized as being part of
the solution. For example, Clow et al. (2006) discuss how service
attributes are better portrayed using visual elements of advertising,
for example pictures or moving images (as opposed to copy), and
this can clearly be appreciated by referring back to the roller-
coaster or restaurant examples. In this respect, it is possible to see
a link with film and how it can aid the promotion of a destination,
especially because it is also being presented to large captive audi-
ences over long periods of time (relative to traditional visual forms
of advertising, e.g. television adverts). This builds on the recog-
nized benefits of cinema advertising/sponsorship in general –
opportunities that have been exploited to good effect by large
companies such as Orange.
However, the buyer decision-making process for the service
product compounds marketing challenges even further (Hoffman
and Turley, 2002). In the absence of being able to touch, see, or test
a service, prepurchasing decisions are much riskier than for goods
(Palmer, 2000). In many ways, it is venturing into an unknown and
untested territory unless the consumer has purchased the product
before or the product has received a positive word of mouth (File
and Prince, 1992). During this stage, the consumer is likely to be
very sensitive to images, with the outcome being likened to that of
the halo effect (Stone, 1990). In this context, the positive image
portrayed of a destination in a movie could be said to enhance the
consumer’s perception of the destination product. Furthermore,
such a large-scale awareness of a particular destination through
film can help build a public image of a destination, which, accord-
ing to Moutinho (1984 cited in Obenour et al., 2004), will influ-
ence the tourist’s decision-making process.
The strength of film as a promotional tool can be extended when
one considers the actors involved with the movie, in a similar way
International Journal of Consumer Studies 32 (2008) 382–390 © The Authors
Journal compilation © 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Film induced tourism and consumer choice
that celebrity endorsements can aid the marketing of goods and
brands. With celebrity endorsements, it is essential that there is a
perceived ‘match’ between the celebrity used and the intended
positioning, for example David Beckham and Adidas (an ‘elite’
footballer endorsing an ‘elite’ sporting brand). The same could be
true for associated images in film. It is an advantage to DMOs that
many of the global film tourism examples indeed have leading
actors in them, which may go some way in enhancing the appeal
of a destination, especially because ‘tourist destination brand
image is a major influencing factor in traveller destination choice’
(Hanlan and Kelly, 2005, p. 163).
In their research on consumer trust, McGoldrick et al. (2006,
p. 112) believe that ‘it is possible that onscreen virtual characters
can serve a boundary-spanning role in building relationships with
customers in what may be otherwise perceived as an intangible,
impersonal experience’. As such, the audience may identify not
just with the film actors, but with the ‘characters’ they portray.
McGoldrick et al.’s work supports what the authors here contend
in that film characters may in some ways establish a ‘bond’ or a
‘relationship’ with the audience, and when this is compounded
further by the effect of an emotional or gripping storyline, impres-
sive scenery and memorable music, then movies may indeed help
to market and sell destinations to the tourism consumer in a more
accessible, unbiased and indeed tangible way.
Image
Marketers in the tourism arena must influence consumer decision
making in, as Echtner and Ritchie (1991) state, an increasingly
complex and competitive global marketplace, and a key compo-
nent of such positioning is the creation and management of a
distinctive perception or image of the destination. According to
Baloglu and McCleary (1999, p. 868), ‘Research of the past two
decades has demonstrated that image is a valuable concept in
understanding the destination selection process of tourists’. The
authors of the paper here concur and advocate that the image
consumers have of a destination (and by extent the service sectors
involved) is of paramount importance in the marketing that is
involved. Creating an image for a destination is not necessarily an
easy task. Researchers such as Therkelsen (2003, p. 135) believe
that creating such images are ‘. . . not only about the imaginary
universe and demand patterns of the consumer – the inherent
resources of the place (eg, climate, landscape, culture) as well as
the strategic plans for tourism development in a given area . . .
should also play a role’. Image, therefore, can be seen as a blend
of the real or authentic with the imagined aspects or perceptions of
the consumer added to this. Such images can come from both
direct marketing by tourism organizations (from National Tourist
Organisations (NTOs) to smaller individual operators, e.g. travel
agencies and visitor attractions) and indirectly from other sources
including cinematic films and television programmes. These all
work together to construct an image a consumer forms of a
destination.
Reynolds (1965) describes the formation of image as the devel-
opment of a mental construct based upon a few impressions
chosen from a ‘flood’ of information. These sources may include,
according to Echtner and Ritchie (1991), promotional literature
(travel brochures, posters, web sites), the opinions of others
383
Film induced tourism and consumer choice
Organic Image
Motivation to
Travel
Active
Information
Search
Induced Evaluation of alternative
Images destinations benefits and images
Destination selection
Destination visit and formation
of a more complex image
Figure 1 Tourist image formation process.
Source: Faye and Crompton (1991) cited in Henkel et al. (2006).
(family/friends, travel agents) and the general media (newspapers,
magazines, books, television programmes and movies).
Henkel et al. (2006) distinguish that image can be either a
mental image of a product created deliberately by a marketing
department or an associative image of a product that is developed
by the consumer. This is supported by research from Sirgy and Su
(2000), which shows that the consumer of a product is influenced
by the matching of the product image with the consumer’s own
concept of the product. As shown in Fig. 1, both the consumer’s
organic images of possible tourist destinations and induced images
obtained from media such as film and television will influence the
evaluation of alternative travel destinations and assist in making a
decision about where to travel actually.
This echoes and builds on the seminal work of Gunn (1972)
and later of Echtner and Ritchie (1991) on the meaning and mea-
surement of destination image. The perception of a place gained
from organic images of possible tourist destinations and induced
images obtained from film and television will then be altered
further after actual visitation and experience of that place, result-
ing in (as Fig. 1 shows) a more complex image of the destina-
tion. This supports Gunn’s (1988) work, which set out seven
phases of the travel experience that begins with the accumulation
of mental images of a place and ends with the modification of
original images based on the vacation experience itself. While
such a modified image of a place after visitation may well deter-
mine any repeat visitation, it is the original mental imagery of
the place that determines whether or not someone will choose
to visit the destination in the first place. As this paper is chiefly
concerned with the influence of film on forming or altering these
initial images, the next section sets this further in the context of
film-related imagery.
384
P. Bolan and L. Williams
Film and destination image
From the literature, it is clear that image plays a crucial role in how
people perceive and view tourist destinations. ‘Image is the most
important aspect of tourist attraction. It is what attracts people,
even if it is reality which determines if they will enjoy themselves
and return again’ (Lew, 1988, cited in Butler, 1990). Gunn (1972)
was one of the first to examine and conceptualize such image
formation processes and identified two key types – ‘organic
images’ and ‘induced images’. Organic images are formed from
sources not directly associated with tourism interests, e.g. news-
paper stories, films, novels etc. whereas induced images derive
from a conscious effort on the part of marketers to develop,
promote and advertise specific tourist destinations.
Other researchers such as Gartner (1993) and Gallarza et al.
(2002) have viewed the image formation process as more of a
continuum comprising of eight different aspects: overt induced I
agent (relating to traditional forms of advertising), overt induced II
agent (information from tour operators), covert induced I agent
(second-party endorsement of products through traditional forms
of advertising), covert induced II agent (second-party endorsement
through unbiased reports such as newspaper articles), autonomous
agent (news and popular culture – including film), unsolicited
organic agent (unsolicited information from friends and relatives),
solicited organic agent (solicited information from friends and
relatives) and the organic agent (actual first-hand visitation).
From Gartner’s work on image formation the role of the autono-
mous image formation agents appears to have particularly power-
ful effects on image formation in relation to the theme of this
paper. Television news coverage and popular culture (such as
films, television programmes and literature) can provide substan-
tial information about a place in a short period of time. Further-
more, people are more likely to evaluate the information from
these sources as relatively objective and unbiased when compared
with traditional advertising (Kim and Richardson, 2003).
The medium of film can also reach and touch markets where
deliberate traditional marketing cannot. ‘A movie may generate
and sustain interest in a destination in a way which destination
marketers cannot afford to do’ (Tooke and Baker, 1996, p. 88).
The kind of large screen exposure a film (especially a critically
acclaimed or a commercially successful film) can give a destina-
tion is something most bodies responsible for tourism promotion
simply could not hope to pay for nor be able to produce. There are
signs, however, that recognition of such a phenomenon as film-
induced tourism is now receiving more attention by NTOs. Visit-
Britain produced its first movie map campaign back in 1996,
which featured some 200 film and television locations around
Britain that tourists could visit (Grihault, 2003). More recently,
according to Bolan and Davidson (2005), a new series of such
movie maps have been produced in connection with the 2004
‘King Arthur’ movie and further recent additions have included
movie maps and trails in connection with ‘Bridget Jones – The
Edge of Reason’ and ‘Closer’. The Scottish Tourist Board, now
operating under the name ‘VisitScotland’, has also been very sup-
portive of the film tourism concept (particularly since the 1995
film Braveheart and the boost it gave to Scotland’s image in the
eyes of the consumer).
Representation on the cinema screen can reinforce an image of
a place in the consumer’s mind or indeed foster and develop a new
International Journal of Consumer Studies 32 (2008) 382–390 © The Authors
Journal compilation © 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
P. Bolan and L. Williams
image of a potential destination. This can reach a level where
certain destinations can become intrinsically linked with a particu-
lar film, e.g. Thailand and ‘The Beach’, Scotland and ‘Braveheart’,
Ireland and ‘The Quiet Man’. As in these examples, it can be on
the scale of an entire country as the draw for tourists. However, in
the view of Bolan and Davidson (2005), the potential influence of
film on the tourist can link films on a more specific level to actual
cities or resorts within a country, e.g. Vienna and ‘The Third Man’,
Florence and ‘A Room with a View’, and Salzburg and ‘The Sound
of Music’. Clearly, image is fundamental in how consumers see a
destination, and film in today’s society provides a major source of
such imagery. Something therefore that has given rises in aca-
demia and industry to the term ‘film-induced tourism’.
Film-induced tourism
The phenomenon of films establishing an image of a place in
people’s minds and encouraging or influencing consumers in their
travel choices has become known in recent years as ‘film-induced
tourism’. So what exactly is film-induced tourism? According to
VisitBritain, it can be defined as ‘. . . tourist visits to a destination
or attraction as a result of the destination being featured on tele-
vision, video or the cinema screen’ (Grihault, 2003, p. 3). While
this is by no means a new phenomenon, the entire concept of
film-induced tourism has gained more attention as a result of ‘The
Lord of the Rings’(LOTR) film trilogy and the ensuing tourist
interest in New Zealand where the films where made (Beeton,
2005). Although the case of the LOTR and New Zealand is a
recent high profile and now a well-documented example, film-
induced tourism has been occurring for some time all around the
globe. ‘Just as paintings whetted the appetite of tourists in the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to visit particular places, film
has become the modern-day equivalent for the tourist’ (Bolan,
cited in Bushe, 2005, p. 4).
As the examples in Table 1 illustrate, this has been happening
all around the world in different places and in different decades in
the 20th and 21st centuries. A very successful recent movie (from
Table 1) that brought a high tourist impact to the areas it show-
cased was the film ‘Sideways’ (2004). The modest comedy about
two middle-aged men going on a wine-tasting tour of California
generated over 600 media stories highlighting the Santa Barbara
region as a key travel destination (equivalent to $4 million worth
of advertising). Businesses in the region’s wine country reported
an increase in trade of up to 30% following the film’s release, with
wineries on a specially produced ‘Sideways’ map receiving a boost
of up to 42% (Bentham, 2006).
Table 1 Global film tourism examples
Film Tourist Destination
Braveheart (1995) Scotland
The Lord of the Rings (2001–2003) New Zealand
Crocodile Dundee (1986) Australia
Sideways (2004) US
The Quiet Man (1952) Ireland
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (2001) Greece (Cephalonia)
The Sound of Music (1965) Austria
Amelie (2001) France
Miss Potter (2006) England
International Journal of Consumer Studies 32 (2008) 382–390 © The Authors
Journal compilation © 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Film induced tourism and consumer choice
Film-induced tourism has also been referred to more recently
as ‘set-jetting’ by authors such as Bentham (2006) and Grihault
(2007). In recent decades, the phenomenon has become particu-
larly prevalent in the UK and Ireland. The Harry Potter films have
been a hugely successful example for Britain. The release of the
first film ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ (2001)
created, according to Grihault (2003), ‘Potter Mania’ around the
globe and a subsequent boost in tourist interest in Britain as a
result. A movie map showcasing the film’s locations and subtitled
‘Discovering the Magic of Britain’ proved highly successful. This
has continued with subsequent Harry Potter movies highlighting
the additional benefits of repeated exposure that a ‘film franchise’
brings over one-off ‘stand alone’ movies. The most recent release,
‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’, was the top grossing film of
2005, earning US$892 million worldwide (Grihault, 2007, p. 7).
This presents a destination (in this case Britain) with the kind of
global exposure no DMO could ever hope to fund themselves. The
films about J.K. Rowling’s character have conjured up an ‘image’
in consumers’ minds of a Britain associated with magic and
mystery, and sites such as Alnwick Castle, Gloucester Cathedral,
Lacock Abbey and King’s Cross Station have all seen visitor
increases, which, according to Grihault (2007), can be largely
attributed to their connection with the Harry Potter films. The
recent film ‘Miss Potter’ (2006) about the life of Beatrix Potter is
expected to bring an additional boost to tourism in the English
Lake District and will have the added advantage (like Harry Potter,
no relation) of being able to build on the already existing literary
association this region of Cumbria has with the famous children’s
author. In particular, it is expected that the film may prove par-
ticularly successful in attracting Japanese tourists who already
have an affinity to Beatrix Potter as her stories are on the school
curriculum there. A recent study by Iwashita (2006) carried out in
Japan into writers whose works increased people’s interest in
visiting the UK found that Beatrix Potter was the most popular
writer, with 42.8% citing her stories as an influence on them
wishing to visit Britain (putting her ahead of authors such as
Shakespeare, Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie and J.K. Rowling).
While these UK examples are from recent movies, this concept
is not, as previously stated, necessarily particularly innovative.
In Ireland, the phenomenon can be traced back at least as far as
John Ford’s 1952 film ‘The Quiet Man’ (starring John Wayne and
Maureen O’Hara), which, according to Bolan and Davidson
(2005), showcased the West of Ireland to the world and struck a
particular cord with American audiences. The village of Cong and
surrounding region in Co. Mayo (including sites such as Ashford
Castle) regularly benefits from American coach tours wishing to
visit the sites associated with the film. Similarly, the 1970 David
Lean movie ‘Ryan’s Daughter’ without question put Dingle in
South-West Ireland on the tourist map (Bolan and Crossan, 2006),
tapping into and fostering the popular and romanticized image of
Ireland. Whether ‘authentic’ or not, the image that these two early
film examples portray of Ireland have been successful in drawing
tourists to the country enthused and inspired by what they have
seen. A recent example includes the Northern Ireland Tourist
Board’s attempts to brand the country as the ‘inspiration’ for
‘Narnia’ to coincide with the release of the 2005 movie ‘The
Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’. This
proves an interesting example as the film was actually made in
New Zealand (as most movies in the fantasy genre tend to be as the
385
Film induced tourism and consumer choice
LOTR). C.S. Lewis, the author of the Narnia stories, was born in
Belfast and spent his early childhood in Northern Ireland
(although he spent much of his adult life in Oxford, England). This
is an example using a strong link to the original stories to tap into
publicity surrounding the film to showcase a country and its
scenery that is said to have inspired C.S. Lewis to create the
mythical land of Narnia (Bolan and O’Connor, 2006). This proves
that a film does not even have to be filmed in a destination for that
place to benefit from it, although this can of course raise issues of
authenticity.
Focusing on the marketing aspect of film-induced tourism,
‘Marketing opportunities are generated when the film is being
premiered and distributed as well as during each release window.
Additional businesses and services can be created through film
tourism that in turn can encourage the extension and strengthen-
ing of the visitor season’ (Hudson and Ritchie, 2006, p. 387).
Evidence researchers such as Grihault (2003, 2007), Bolan and
Davidson (2005), Bentham (2006) and Iwashita (2006) all support
this for a variety of examples in the UK and Ireland but reveal that
the potential is all too often not fully realized by DMOs. Clearly,
the medium of film (something that is inherently an external force
on the consumer) can help to foster and build the image of place in
386
P. Bolan and L. Williams
Figure 2 Factors influencing the holiday
decision.
Source: Adopted from Swarbrooke and Horner
(2006).
a person’s mind. When considering the myriad of factors that can
influence consumer choice of a tourist destination, it can be seen
how film plays a crucial role in the overall process.
Figure 2 subdivides the complex array of factors that influence
holiday decision making into those internal to the tourist and those
external in nature. In this case, the impact of film on the tourist
falls under external influences.
These factors (both positive and negative) indicate just what a
detailed range of aspects are at play upon any would-be tourist
before they make their travel decision on where to visit during
their leisure time. This model also echoes Gilbert’s (1991) ‘Con-
sumer Decision-Making Framework’.
Authenticity
Another issue is that of ‘authenticity’ of location. While films may
act as a catalyst or motivating factor on people to visit a particular
place, they may rarely offer an authentic view of that place com-
pared with the reality of what the tourist will find there. Baudril-
lard (1988, p. 56) in his work on hyperreality takes the stance that
the cinema and its spectatorial mobilities and simulated visualities
are not confined to the screen but extend outward into urban
International Journal of Consumer Studies 32 (2008) 382–390 © The Authors
Journal compilation © 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
P. Bolan and L. Williams
Figure 3 Destination enhancement through
film-induced image
reflexes as stated: ‘To grasp its secret, you should not then begin
with the city and move inwards towards the screen; you should
begin with the screen and move outwards towards the city’. What
Baudrillard is saying is that many cities and indeed other places
these days seem to have stepped right out of the movies. Friedberg
(2002, p. 186) also believes that film provides a ‘virtual mobility’
for its spectators, producing the illusion of transport to other
places and times. However, such a form of virtual mobility does
raise key issues in relation to authenticity. According to Steiner
and Reisinger (2006, p. 299), ‘Authenticity is a familiar word but
not a very stable concept, especially within tourism literature’.
There have been many studies written on issues of authenticity in
tourism (MacCannell, 1973; Cohen, 1988; Engler, 1993; Hughes,
1995; Tzanelli, 2004; Kim and Jamal, 2007). Tourists visiting a
destination may wish to recapture in some way what they saw on
screen or experienced while viewing a film. Films, by their nature,
can present something that distorts the reality of the ‘actual’ place.
It may therefore prove difficult for the tourist to find exactly what
they seek, and this can be further compounded with the growing
trend for movies to be filmed in a different place from that which
they portray on screen (e.g. Braveheart filmed in Ireland but
portraying Scotland, or The Last Samurai filmed in New Zealand
but portraying Japan).
With film arguably playing an increasing role in helping to form
people’s image of a place, this trend for highly in-authentic
approaches such as using locations far removed from the actual
place they are portraying sets a dangerous course as to what
consumers’ informed imagery and knowledge of places actually
are. Butler (1990) stated that we may be entering an era where
people’s geographical knowledge of the world is based on some-
thing inherently false that they have gleaned through various
media forms such as movies and fictional literature. This impor-
tant issue relates to that of both destination promotion and con-
sumer satisfaction in relation to image and warrants further
research.
International Journal of Consumer Studies 32 (2008) 382–390 © The Authors
Journal compilation © 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Film induced tourism and consumer choice
Destination image enhancement –
a conceptual model
The aim of this study was to investigate the role of image in
service promotion utilizing the influence of film on consumer
choice with regard to tourism. Image has been acknowledged by a
variety of authors as crucially important in influencing consumer
choice. Likewise, the concept of image is of paramount impor-
tance in relation to tourism and consumer views of tourist places.
In parallel with this, the phenomenon film-induced tourism is
growing in acceptance and recognition around the world. This
paper sought to research and analyse existing academic discourse
in key areas such as services marketing, film tourism, and con-
sumer choice to offer insights into how past and current thinking
in these areas can be brought together to better promote tourism
destinations to consumers. The analysis of the literature in this
way culminates in a conceptual model of destination enhancement
through film-induced image (outlined in Fig. 3). The inductive
research design used in the paper does not concern itself with
testing theory, but rather with generating theory from existing
literature in order to produce new insights and enhance under-
standing of the phenomenon of film-induced tourism in relation to
its marketing influence on consumers.
The authors have produced the model in relation to key issues
with regard to two separate pathways, both of which can inform
and create imagery in the mind of the consumer. This paper seeks
to establish the foundations for a larger exploratory study to follow
involving a range of qualitative and quantitative research methods
and subsequent testing of the conceptual model with consumers
throughout the British Isles. The model developed in this study is
illustrated in Fig. 3. In line with earlier discussion, it focuses on
the influence of film to enhance the ‘image’ of a destination in the
mind of the consumer.
Destination enhancement recognizes that the image of a desti-
nation communicated via a movie enhances consumer perception
387
Film induced tourism and consumer choice
of the destination product. Presently, the medium of film is not
fully exploited by DMOs as a means of promoting a destination.
However, as already discussed, it is becoming recognized that film
has an influence on tourism choice. This model illustrates that for
certain destination consumers, the appeal of a particular destina-
tion is enhanced via film, which ultimately has an influence over
their travel choices. It may also attract consumers that were not
part of the targeted promotional activities of the DMO and there-
fore enhance the appeal of the destination for film consumers.
Film therefore provides a ‘bonus’ means of communication with
consumers for the DMO, who ultimately have no influence regard-
ing where, when, or even ‘if’ a film will be portraying (and there-
fore promoting) their destination. In this sense, the promotional
activity provided by film is ‘contributory’ and cannot always be
part of core activities.
Conscious communication is designed to reflect the planned and
relatively controllable marketing efforts that DMOs can exert
towards it target consumer profile. This in many ways follows the
activities that Hudson and Ritchie (2006) advocate that DMOs
follow in order to exploit the power of film in destination market-
ing, used to good example in the case of New Zealand and the
‘LOTR’ (2001–2003). ‘Unconscious communication’ is not
intended to suggest that DMOs are unaware of the benefits of film
in destination marketing; rather, it is intended to illustrate the
contributory nature of this ‘bonus’ promotional activity, in that it is
not actively initiated or strongly influenced by DMOs. Further-
more, it is not actively exploited enough by DMOs or at an early
enough stage in the process. Evidence from authors such as
Beeton (2005) and Hudson and Ritchie (2006) suggests that most
DMO marketing activities related to film take place after a movie’s
release and not before. This strongly suggests that early potential
is being lost or ignored. The authors here advocate that DMOs
must work actively to engage with the potential of film at an earlier
stage and not sit back and wait to see what happens.
The unconscious communication (contributory promotion)
illustrated on the left of the model is therefore related to what
Gunn (1972) and Henkel et al. (2006) term ‘organic’ imagery and
such influence on the consumer here (from film) is a subtler and
much less overt form of promotion where the persuasive intent of
the product exposure is often not deliberate and in a sense hidden
within the entertainment vehicle. The conscious communication
(planned core promotion) shown on the right of the model is
related to Gunn’s induced imagery where it is very much a delib-
erate and overt form of direct marketing from DMs to the con-
sumer. The conceptual model therefore builds on previous key
research, specifically Grihault (2003) and Beeton (2005) and most
recently Hudson and Ritchie (2006) in the field of film tourism
and draws on the work of Gunn (1972), Echtner and Ritchie
(1991) and Henkel et al. (2006) in the area of tourism/destination
image. Primarily, it focuses on and recognizes the importance and
value of ‘image’ in view of other marketing activities. It therefore
directly acknowledges the service nature of the destination
product (largely its intangibility) and how some of the related
challenges can be overcome through product (destination) image.
As previously discussed, consumers are sensitive to images
regarding a service product because of the intangible nature of the
offering. Furthermore, the image that is presented to a captive
audience for a relatively long period of time (as in a 2-h film) is
therefore sustained and arguably impressionable. In this respect,
388
P. Bolan and L. Williams
film is an extremely valuable promotional tool for a destination
(yet still an under-exploited one).
In future, if DMOs can have improved relations with film pro-
duction companies and film commissions, and access the funds to
support a meaningful collaboration then perhaps the unconscious
communication activities will become part of planned promotional
activities. For now, although, the influence of film in consumer
choice within tourism remains largely a contributory bonus to the
core promotional activities of DMOs as illustrated by the model in
Fig. 3. As such, further study in this area is of paramount impor-
tance and research of an empirical nature is required to test the
model presented here and further develop these crucial aspects for
both industry and academia.
Conclusion and recommendations
Image plays a crucial role in a service industry such as tourism.
DMOs, like other service marketers, inevitably experience chal-
lenges in promoting their tourism product. Challenges are related
to the intangible nature of the product, and this paper argues that
a destination portrayed in a movie can overcome some of these
challenges through fostering destination enhancement via image
(as illustrated in Fig. 3). Film can therefore help to make the
intangible tangible and through the image it forms in the mind of
the consumer can further aid in promoting destinations to the
tourist in a more accessible and unbiased way. According to
Grihault (2007), the chance to leverage off a film by working with
film companies brings some huge advantages for destinations. The
authors here concur strongly with this and advocate that DMOs
work much more closely with film commissions and production
companies to maximize the tourism potential that exists to be
harnessed. As the conceptual model in Fig. 3 illustrates, DMOs
must pay greater attention to the unconscious communication
aspects of contributory promotional activities that film brings in
order to capitalize on and foster the overlap between film consum-
ers and destination consumers that leads to destination enhance-
ment. Planned deliberate marketing activities from DMOs and
other players in the tourism arena can never achieve the marketing
reach of a commercially popular feature film. Rather than sit back
and reap the added benefits that such a movie may bring to a place,
tourism players need to involve themselves at an earlier stage and
utilize conscious marketing communication activities that work in
tandem with the unconscious communication aspects related to the
film. This will, in the opinion of the authors, result in a much
greater area of overlap, i.e. those consumers who have their image
of a place informed by both film and direct DMO marketing,
thereby contributing to greater overall destination enhancement.
The lack of empirical evidence should be noted as a limitation
here. Further deductive research is needed to test the conceptual
model (Fig. 3). The authors here will undertake such research
through a combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques
exploring and testing destination image perception (including
links between such perception and subsequent behaviour) and the
influence of planned and contributory promotional activities on
destination image enhancement. This will include semi-structured
interviews with tourist authorities responsible for conscious com-
munication with consumers and also survey work with visiting
tourists to the British Isles (the UK and Ireland). Essentially inter-
pretive in nature, this research seeks to explore the opinions of
International Journal of Consumer Studies 32 (2008) 382–390 © The Authors
Journal compilation © 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
P. Bolan and L. Williams
both sets of participants and make evaluative judgements of their
subjective experiences (Saunders et al., 2007). Ontologically then,
this research adopts a subjective view of reality with the percep-
tions of the participants being crucial to further understanding of
destination enhancement. Despite the need for further research of
an empirical nature, the proposed model is, in the opinion of the
authors, a valuable mechanism for illustrating and analysing des-
tination enhancement through film-induced image and as such will
prove an enlightening tool for tourism marketers and academics to
examine such issues further.
References
Baloglu, S. & McCleary, K.W. (1999) A model of destination image
formation. Annals of Tourism Research, 26, 868–897.
Baudrillard, J. (1988) Simulations and simulacra. In Jean Baudrillard:
Selected Writings (ed. by M. Poster), pp. 166–184. Stanford Univer-
sity Press, Stanford, CA.
Beeton, S. (2005) Film-induced Tourism. Channel View Publications,
Clevedon.
Bentham, J. (2006) The Set-Jetters. The Guardian, 17 February,
pp. 11–12.
Bolan, P. & Crossan, M. (2006) The Influence of Film Induced Tourism
on Ireland’s Dingle Peninsula: A Case-Study of Ryan’s Daughter. 2nd
Annual Tourism & Hospitality in Ireland Conference, WIT, June 2006.
Bolan, P. & Davidson, K. (2005) Film Induced Tourism in Ireland:
Exploring the Potential. Tourism & Hospitality in Ireland Conference,
University of Ulster, June 2005.
Bolan, P. & O’Connor, N. (2006) The Branding of Northern Ireland as a
Tourist Destination Using C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia –
the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. 2nd Annual Tourism & Hospi-
tality in Ireland Conference, WIT, June 2006.
Bushe, A. (2005) Projecting a cinematic boost for tourism. The Newslet-
ter, 13 June, p. 4.
Butler, R. (1990) The influence of the media in shaping international
tourist patterns. Tourism Recreation Research, 15, 46–53.
Clow, K.E., James, K.E., Kranenburg, K.E. & Berry, C.T. (2006) The
relationship of the visual element of an advertisement to service
quality expectations and source credibility. Journal of Services Mar-
keting, 20, 404–411.
Cohen, E. (1988) Authenticity and commodification in tourism. Annals
of Tourism Research, 15, 371–386.
Echtner, C.M. & Ritchie, J.R.B. (1991) The meaning and measurement
of destination image. Journal of Travel Studies, 2, 2–12.
Engler, M. (1993) Drive-thru history: theme towns in Iowa. Landscape,
32, 8–18.
Faye, P.C. & Crompton, J.L. (1991) Image differences between prospec-
tive, first-time, and repeat visitors to the lower Rio Grande valley.
Journal of Travel Research, 30, 10–16.
File, K.M. & Prince, R.A. (1992) Positive word of mouth: customer sat-
isfaction and buyer behaviour. The International Journal of Bank
Marketing (UK), 10, 25–39.
Friedberg, A. (2002) Urban mobility and cinematic visuality: the screens
of Los Angeles – endless cinema or private telematics. Journal of
Visual Culture, 1, 183–204.
Gallarza, M.G., Saura, I.G. & Garcia, H.C. (2002) Destination image:
towards a conceptual framework. Annals of Tourism Research, 29,
56–78.
Gartner, W. (1993) Image formation process. Journal of Travel and
Tourism Marketing, 2, 191–216.
Gilbert, D.C. (1991) An examination of the consumer decision process
related to tourism. In Progress in Tourism Recreation and Hospitality
International Journal of Consumer Studies 32 (2008) 382–390 © The Authors
Journal compilation © 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Film induced tourism and consumer choice
Management, Vol. 3 (ed. by C.P. Cooper), pp. 78–105. BelhavenPress,
London.
Grihault, N. (2003) Film tourism – the global picture. Travel and
Tourism Analyst, 5, 1–21.
Grihault, N. (2007) Set-jetting tourism – international. Mintel Reports,
7, 1–45.
Gunn, C. (1972) Vacationscape. University of Texas Press, Austin, TX.
Gunn, C. (1988) Vactionscapes: Designing Tourist Regions. Van Nos-
trand Reinhold, New York.
Hanlan, J. & Kelly, S. (2005) Image formation, information sources and
an iconic Australian tourist destination. Journal of Vacation Market-
ing, 11, 163–177.
Henkel, R., Henkel, P., Agrusa, W., Agrusa, J. & Tanner, J. (2006) Thai-
land as a tourist destination: perceptions of international visitors and
Thai residents. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 11, 269–287.
Hoffman, K. & Turley, L.W. (2002) Atmospherics, service encounters
and consumer decision making: an integrative perspective. Journal of
Marketing Theory and Practice, 10, 33.
Hudson, S. & Ritchie, J.R.B. (2006) Promoting destinations via film
tourism: an empirical identification of supporting marketing initia-
tives. Journal of Travel Research, 44, 387–396.
Hughes, G. (1995) Authenticity in tourism. Annals of Tourism Research,
22, 781–803.
Iwashita, C. (2006) Media representation of the UK as a destination for
Japanese tourists: popular culture and tourism. Tourist Studies, 6,
59–77.
Kim, H. & Jamal, T. (2007) Touristic quest for existential authenticity.
Annals of Tourism Research, 34, 181–201.
Kim, H. & Richardson, S.L. (2003) Motion picture impacts on destina-
tion images. Annals of Tourism Research, 30, 216–237.
Kotler, P. (2000) Marketing Management: The Millennium Edition, 10th
edn. Prentice-Hall International (UK) Limited, London.
Levitt, T. (1981) Marketing intangible products and product intangibles.
Harvard Business Review, May-June, pp. 95–102.
Lew, A.A. (1988) A framework of tourist attraction research. Annals of
Tourism Research, 15, 533–575.
MacCannell, D. (1973) Staged authenticity: arrangements of social
space in tourist settings. American Journal of Sociology, 79, 589–603.
McGoldrick, P., Beatty, S. & Keeling, K.A. (2006) On-screen charac-
ters: their design and influence on consumer trust. Journal of Services
Marketing, 20, 112–124.
Mercille, J. (2005) Media effects on image: the case of Tibet. Annals of
Tourism Research, 32, 1039–1055.
Morgan, N.J. & Pritchard, A. (2002) Tourism, Promotion & Power: Cre-
ating Images, Creating Identities. Wiley, Chichester.
Morgan, N.J., Pritchard, A. & Piggott, R. (2003) Destination branding
and the role of the stakeholders: the case of New Zealand. Journal of
Vacation Marketing, 9, 285–299.
Moutinho, L. (1984) Vacation tourist decision process. Quarterly Review
of Marketing, 9, 8–17.
Obenour, W., Lengfelder, J. & Groves, D. (2004) The development of a
destination through the image assessment of six geographic markets.
Journal of Vacation Marketing, 11, 107–119.
Palmer, A. (2000) The Principles of Marketing. Oxford University
Press, Oxford.
Reynolds, W.H. (1965) The role of the consumer in image building.
California Management Review, Spring, pp. 69–76.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P. & Thornhill, A. (2007) Research Methods for
Business Students, 3rd edn. Pearson Education Limited, Harlow.
Sirgy, M. & Su, C. (2000) Destination image, self-congruity, and travel
behaviour: toward an integrative model. Journal of Travel Research,
38, 340–352.
Steiner, C.J. & Reisinger, Y. (2006) Understanding existential authentic-
ity. Annals of Tourism Research, 33, 299–318.
389
Film induced tourism and consumer choice
Stone, M. (1990) Leisure Services Marketing, Croner Publications Ltd,
Surrey.
Swarbrooke, J. & Horner, S. (2006) Consumer Behaviour in Tourism,
3rd edn. Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford.
Therkelsen, A. (2003) Imagining places: image formation of tourists and
its consequences for destination promotion. Scandinavian Journal of
Hospitality and Tourism, 3, 134–150.
Tooke, N. & Baker, M. (1996) Seeing is believing: the effect of film on
visitor numbers to screened locations. Tourism Management, 17,
87–96.
390
P. Bolan and L. Williams
Tzanelli, R. (2004) Constructing the ‘cinematic tourist’: the ‘sign indus-
try’ of the Lord of the Rings. Tourist Studies, 4, 21–42.
Urry, J. (1990) The Tourist Gaze: Leisure and Travel in Contemporary
Societies. Sage, London.
Williams, A. (2006) Tourism and hospitality marketing: fantasy, feeling
and fun. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Manage-
ment, 18, 482–495.
Zhou, Z. (2004) E-Commerce and Information Technology in Hospitality
and Tourism. Thomson Delmar Learning, New York.
International Journal of Consumer Studies 32 (2008) 382–390 © The Authors
Journal compilation © 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd