A movie with beautiful landscape, historical sites or novelty creates a desire to travel and get away from the monotony of the life amongst the people. Cinema is a powerful media for the development of the image formation and image development. By and large, movies are not produced with the intention to inform the people about the destination, instead it is produced for economic or entertainment purpose. Despite of the fact movies inform many people and impact tourism in reflective ways. Therefore, cinema plays a crucial direct or indirect role in influencing the image and perception of the destination in the viewer’s mind even prior to their arrival.

India can attract plentiful of inbound tourists beyond the popular tourist destinations as Goa, Kerala, Rajasthan mere by exploiting films as a tool. The films could prove to be a great platform to display the India’s rich cultural heritage, the diverse travel destinations, and the assortment of cuisine we have. Forwarding a step to the development of film tourism or film – induced tourism the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry of Tourism signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the aim to provide a strong support to film tourism which will boost the ‘Incredible India’ campaign. The identified film festivals will get budgetary support by the Ministry of Tourism and will offer single-window clearance permission to shoot the films. The MoU is expected to wipe out the hurdles which domestic and foreign producers faced earlier for getting permission to shoot in India.

A film production at any particular destination can provide an array of profit generating opportunities. The audience of the film gets introduced to the exotic locations and the geographical diversity the host country offers. This aspect can fillip the tourism industry; inbound travel, to the host country. After the release of movie Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Spain received 600,000 enquiries from India alone. According the Spain Tourism Board the number of visas issued to Indians, after the movie, went up 50 %– 60%.  Film–induced tourism can act as a catalyst to employment opportunities at the host country. The local technicians, actors, localities get hired by the foreign film crew shooting films in a country. Further, the providers of overnight accommodation can profit from having the film crew stay at their hotel, which can induce the economy and foreign exchange opportunities.  Moreover, the film production in a host country enables it to experience and learn about the diverse culture and nationalities. It can also create the platform to market high-tech production facilities and equipment thereby, creating a cultural and technological exchange in the host country.

About the Author

Dr. Ranjana Tiwari, PhD from MLSU. Currently serving as an Associate Professor in Hyderabad