| Author: | Lam, Chi-chiu Samuel |
| Title: | Attributes and impacts of film tourism development : perceptions of visitors and local residents |
| Degree: | M.Phil. |
| Year: | 2009 |
| Subject: | Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations. Tourism. Motion picture locations. |
| Department: | School of Hotel and Tourism Management |
| Pages: | x, 148 leaves ; 30 cm. |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | As a trend in visiting film locations has emerged, a new tourism product named film tourism was born in the late 1980s. Since the phenomena of film tourism can be unplanned, unpredictable and unexpected, film tourism can happen in any or site destination that has been featured in films or television programs. In order to present and minimize the conflicts that occur between film tourists and the host community, and as well as to prepare and plan for the film tourism phenomena and trend, it is important to be able to identify and examine the attributes and impacts of film tourism development as perceived by both visitors and the host community. Failure to do so is likely to result in the loss of opportunity to: a) manage the benefits of both film tourists and members from the host community properly and fairly; b) measure and assess the needs of visitors once they come to the destination as film tourists. The objectives of this study are: 1) To identify and examine attributes of film tourism and the impacts created by the development of film tourism; 2) To identify the perceived level of importance of film tourism attributes by visitors and host residents; 3) To identify the perceived level of influence of film tourism impacts on.....by visitors and host residents; 4) To examine the influence and motivation that films exert on the respondents' selection of a travel destination; 5) To identify the attributes that is important to potential film tourists; 6) To examine Hong Kong's status and image as a film tourism destination; and 7) To identify the effects of distance decay and cultural distance on the perceptions of visitors from different regions towards film's influence on travel decision to visit Hong Kong and Hong Kong's status as a film tourism destination. A survey was conducted in August 2007, in which 500 respondents (including local residents and visitors) were interviewed. According to the survey results, four factors were identified for each set of film tourism attributes and impacts. The attribute factors included "film-connected attributes", "operation of film tourism development", "film tourism activities/products", and "destination attributes" while the impact factors included "economic impacts", "image impacts", "social-environmental impacts", and "tourism impacts". As revealed by the results, it was suggested that film tourism development in Hong Kong should emphasize the destination and cultural elements of Hong Kong and maximize the tourism revenues, as the public should also be more aware of the possible social and environment impacts brought about by film tourism development. It was also found that there was a lack of understanding on film tourism among both residents and visitors, as films' influence on destination selection and the tourists' decision to visit Hong Kong was rated at a considerably low level (4.8 and 4.6 based upon a 10-point Likert-scale, respectively). Although two-fifth of respondents were identified as potential film tourists, whose preferences of the film tourism attributes were similar to those who were not identified as potential film tourists, only one-fifth of the respondents had participated in any form of film tourism activities. These findings suggest that more promotional efforts on film tourism should be exerted for both local residents and visitors. In terms of Hong Kong's status as a film tourism destination, most respondents agreed that film and television can encourage tourists to visit Hong Kong. While, this confirms Hong Kong's potential to develop film tourism, many perceived that the current film-based features and attractions in Hong Kong were insufficient for it to develop film tourism. Very few respondents were aware of the promotional efforts on film tourism attractions by the Hong Kong Tourism Board and many of them merely perceived The Avenue of the Stars, one of the major film tourism attractions in Hong Kong, as a location to "enjoy the scenery/harbour view". These results confirmed Hong Kong's potential in developing film tourism, but a more systematic and comprehensive promotional scheme should be launched and the film elements should be strengthened in the current film-based attractions. On the other hand, it was found that cultural distance did not play a key role on film tourism in Hong Kong, as the results showed that participation in film tourism appears to be influenced more by cultural similarities than differences. Further studies are needed in order to demonstrate whether this is a normal film tourism phenomenon and if cultural distance works on other forms of artistic or cultural travel. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | open access |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| b22858581.pdf | For All Users | 4.63 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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