Thanks to Hollywood, Destinations Take Center Stage
Celebrities, Movies, Books Sell Travel to the Masses
The Signal - Business Section, April, 2005
So maybe we do watch too much television and see too many movies. But from where I sit as a seller of top-notch travel services and vacations, this is a good thing.
Whether it’s where your favorite reality TV program is filmed, a book brought to life on an exotic movie location set, or the chance for celebrity sightings, Hollywood sells travel. When it comes to promoting destinations, from the United States mainland to across the pond and throughout the Caribbean Islands, popular culture has an amazing affect on people’s travel decisions.
What’s big right now in celebrity-driven travel are European museums thanks to the page-turning novel The DaVinci Code, and soon to be released motion picture. Because of this, we want to see the paintings in real life to decide for ourselves what is true. Even bad news draws travelers. South East Asia has remained strong since the devastating tsunami. And last week, Rome became a must-see for many faithful who wanted to pay final respects to the Pope. All of this, in spite of the weak value of the dollar in Europe.
Here at home, New York continues strong with the magnetic pull of Sex in the City, the Donald Trump reality TV show The Apprentice, and even the holiday movie The Elf filmed in and around Central Park. Forget the Empire State Building, although many Godzilla fans would disagree, travelers to New York today want to see Trump Tower instead, and maybe the man himself.
A couple of years ago The Lord of the Rings’ movies, which were filmed in New Zealand, had vacationers heading to the South Pacific by the plane-full. The Queenstown area in particular was transformed from an already popular tourist destination into a Lord of the Rings hang-out, lending itself nicely to the mass marketing of movie trinkets and additional revenue to local businesses of all sorts. Not only restaurants, hotels and shops benefited, but the creation of specialty services such as adventure tours, film guidebooks, maps and more.
When the popular nighttime soap The OC put Orange County on the map as the place to be, hotels enjoyed a surge in occupancy. Hawaii is always a high-demand destination, but now we’ve got fans of the Wednesday night show Lost ready to travel there too. And all it takes is a hit movie or book based in Greece, Italy or Spain, for tourism to increase. The power brokers of Hollywood must be travelers themselves, looking for any excuse to head out on location scouting spots and filming in the most beautiful places of the world.
The must-travel response to movies, books and television is a powerful thing, doing wonders for local economies. By driving tourism and filling airplanes, hotels and restaurants, an already well-liked travel destination can quickly become an international hotspot. In some instances, the celebrity affect can put an unknown area on the map permanently.
Who knew where Melrose Place was before the popular television show by this name came along. Just turn on the television and usually you’ll find at least one show unfolding in Las Vegas. Sin City has sure grown up thanks in large part to the tourism dollars spent there. It really works when new shows with beautiful young stars show us around the exciting desert playground; we want to go too.
Historically, there are many blockbuster examples that point to the strength of Tinseltown and it’s celebrities to sell travel. Most A-list stars have the ability to motivate us to vacation where they just shot a bigger than life film. Sometimes the celebrity affect on destinations is lasting, other times not. This success usually depends on the place itself and whether it has what it takes to remain a draw.
So next time you’re ready to plan a vacation, turn on the TV or head to the movies first. You never know where you’ll end up wanting to go.
Commentary provided by Eric Maryanov, president and founder of All-Travel.com, the Los Angeles-based travel management company with an office in Valencia. He can be reached at 661.775.7511..
For more information
contact Nicole Stinson, Public Relations
(310) 312-3368
