Analysing the Impact of Media Tourism on Locals’ Identities and Sense of Belonging

Project Information

Living in the media

Grant agreement ID: 843473

DOI

10.3030/843473

Project closed

EC signature date 10 April 2019

Start date 1 May 2020

End date 28 January 2023

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 187 572,48

EU contribution

€ 187 572,48

Coordinated by

ERASMUS UNIVERSITEIT ROTTERDAM
Netherlands

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Living in the media (Analysing the Impact of Media Tourism on Locals’ Identities and Sense of Belonging)

Reporting period: 2020-05-01 to 2022-04-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Popular culture has, for a long time, influenced the way people experience the world and their decisions to travel. The arrival of film production crews and film tourists flows (people who visit locations that have appeared in films and TV series) are usually welcomed by city municipalities because of their economic contribution. However, local communities’ opinions on this matter are rarely taken into consideration. Moreover, there is limited research that explicitly analyzes, on the one hand, how people living in film locations interpret and react to media portrayals of their place of residence and, on the other, the local community’s support for the development of film tourism in already popular tourism destinations. The project “Living in the media” aimed to fill in this gap by taking Spain as a case study, a geographical location where no prior investigation has met these two objectives.

Spain is not only one of the world’s top tourism destinations but also a popular film location (e.g. Star Wars, Game of Thrones, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Money Heist, All about my mother). In the current digital era, global distribution of the numerous national and international productions filmed in Spain has increased rapidly and, with it, the visibility of Spanish filming locations has skyrocketed. In particular, the project has taken Sevilla, Barcelona and Madrid as case studies. Thus, the main overall objectives that have guided this project are (a) to analyze the representation of place in fictional films and series; (b) to analyze how local residents interpret the representation of place of residence in fictional films and TV series; and (c) to investigate how local residents perceive the impact of existing tourism and their support for future film tourism development in their place of residence.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

In terms of work dynamics, the project started with the creation of an inventory of the fiction films and TV series shot in Sevilla, Barcelona and Madrid. This inventory was done in collaboration with the research group GeoCine, from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. After that, the researcher developed the research instruments to be used in the empirical work, such as the survey questionnaire, the interview guide and the photo-voice activity. Data was analyzed by means of structural equation modeling, textual analysis, and thematic analysis. This analytical phase was followed by data dissemination and scientific dissemination of the results in conferences (e.g. ECREA), professional meetings (e.g. with Film Commissions), and publications in journals and books.

Conferences attended during the action:
- 9th European Communication Conference (Denmark, 2022)
- ETMAAL van de Communicatiewetenschap Conference” (Belgium, 2022)
- Worlds of Imagination: Media, place and tourism in today’s global world Conference (The Netherlands, 2021).

Academic publications published during the action:
- D. Castro, S. Kim, & G. Assaker, (2023). An empirical examination of the antecedents of residents’ support for future film tourism development. Tourism Management Perspectives, 45, 101067. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2022.101067
- D. Castro (2022). Beyond the Giralda: Residents’ interpretations of the Seville portrayed in fictional movies and TV series. European Journal of Cultural Studies. doi: 10.1177/13675494221112967
- D. Castro & C. Cascajosa (2022). Seville as a Filming Location in the Peak of Spanish TV Fiction. In: J.F. Gutiérrez Lozano, S. Eichner, B. Hagedoorn and A. Cuartero (eds.) New Challenges in European Television. National Experiences in a Transnational Context (pp. 149-170). Comares Comunicación.

It is important to note that more publications and conference papers are yet to come, particularly in relation to the Barcelona and Madrid’s case studies.

Finally, and to disseminate among the local community the main results published in the article “Beyond the Giralda” a visual manifesto was created in collaboration with the visual artist August Metztli. https://deborahcastromarino.files.wordpress.com/2022/10/castro_mas_alla_de_la_giralda-1.pdf

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

“Living in the media” is the first study that explores how local residents living in Spain interpret the way their living place is represented in fiction films and TV series that have the potential to attract film tourists. By placing residents of film locations at the heart of the study, the project aimed to widen the debate on destination images and imaginaries circulated via fictional movies and series set in urban tourist cities. It is argued that bringing to light local residents’ opinions on media portrayals is insightful to local institutional stakeholders (e.g. film commissions) and members of the creative team. For example, these actors have access to scientific information about what local residents think about misrepresentation of place and local residents’ petitions and ideas (e.g. widening the film locations to not only expand the tourist image of a place, but to also foster new physical acts of exploration among the residents).

Conceptually, the project provided several contributions. For example, it has expanded upon Liebes and Katz’s categorization of referential and critical readings by explicitly invoking the concept of self-referential readings to emphasize the impact of the residents’ subjective experiences of place on their interpretative processes. Moreover, the project has also developed and tested a conceptual model of the underlying dynamics and complexities of residents' attitudinal behavior to support future film tourism development. Among the results obtained, it was observed that residents give importance to their involvement in the development and planning of future film tourism initiatives. Thus, it is recommended that local institutional stakeholders that aim to develop and capitalize on film tourism initiatives design effective platforms to collaborate with the local community. Methodologically, the project used a mixed method approach that combines qualitative and quantitative approaches, and classic (e.g. survey) and creative methods (photo-voice). The methodology and instruments created allowed for data triangulation and are suitable to be used in other study’s settings.

In sum, the action has achieved both academic and societal contributions. In fact, results of this project can be exploited by organizations interested in developing inclusive film tourism-policies.

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