The reasons why Thailand's tourism is on fire

It seems that the surprise brought by the small-budget comedy "Man on the Embarrassed Road" is far more than the box office of 65.438+0.26 billion yuan. Recently, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck met with Xu ZH Nong and the cast of "Thailand" in the Prime Minister's Office, thanking "Thailand" for its promotion of Thailand tourism, and welcoming more directors from China to shoot in Thailand.

The director of a film was received by the top leaders of the country's government because the film promoted the tourism of the shooting place, and "Embarrassed in Thailand" can be described as a historical precedent. How much does Thailand's tourism industry benefit from "Thailand"? This can be seen.

Statistics show that more than 2.5 million China tourists visited Thailand last year. During the Spring Festival, the number of domestic tourists who signed up for group tours and free travel in Thailand has tripled compared with the same period of last year, and the price of tours in Thailand has also risen.

At the same time of box office income, it can also produce unexpected "tourism benefits", and use movies to drive the tourism of the shooting place. There were numerous successful cases at home and abroad before Thailand: The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit made New Zealand a popular tourist destination in the world with "magical scenery" resources; An Avatar made Zhangjiajie in China famous. Shaolin Temple and Qiao Family Courtyard have become popular tourist attractions because of film and television dramas. The movie Romance on Lushan Mountain makes Lushan Mountain synonymous with romantic love. At the end of 2008, Xiaogang Feng's New Year movie "If You Are the One" made Hokkaido popular in China overnight, and the house price of Xixi National Wetland Park was also in full swing.

In 20 12, in addition to "Thailand", the release of several domestic and foreign blockbusters also brought different degrees of chain thermal effects to the shooting: the popularity of "Mission Impossible 4" promoted Dubai tourism, and some travel agencies and travel websites quickly launched "Mission Impossible Theme Team Tour"; Yellowstone National Park, Hawaii, China and Tibet, as well as the core area of Mayan civilization in Mexico, which appeared on 20 12, have become the most wanted places for some tourists. With the release of "1942", Guo Min Street, which appeared many times in the film, became popular. In one day, nearly 20,000 tourists poured into Guo Min Street, and a steady stream of businesses contacted them. Just before "Thailand", Ang Lee's "Fantasy Drifting of Pi" made a high box office and won an Oscar, but it also ignited the originally deserted Indian tour. ...

According to a survey conducted by Ctrip. Tourists have a high recognition of film and television tourism. 83% of the audience will want to go to the shooting place because of a favorite film and television work. 9 1% of the respondents believe that advertising in film and television as a shooting location is more acceptable to the audience than product placement in film and television.

Movies have long been a magic weapon to promote tourism in various places, but counting these successful cases, "hitting the key" is its unchanging feature.

The filming of the whole film in Thailand is the idea of Xú Zhēng during a trip to Thailand, and the starting point is certainly not to promote tourism in Thailand. However, with the popularity of "Thailand", Chinese people began to feel the "embarrassment" in the movie plot.

So is If You Are the One. In addition to providing free shooting support for some scenes, the local government did not intend to cooperate with producers to promote tourism in Hokkaido at first.

However, it is precisely because of the great potential of film and television in tourism promotion that the unexpected effect of "inadvertently planting willows into shadows" has gradually become a kind of "intentionally planting flowers" tourism marketing method. In recent years, more and more scenic spots hope to achieve the goal of tourism development through investment shooting, and movies seem to have become the most cost-effective "city business card".

For example, some local tourism departments are scrambling to participate in the planning of some popular films, planting local landmark attractions in the films, and even more wealthy local governments simply invest in filming film and television works with the courage of "building city business cards", hoping that culture can set up a stage and the economy can sing opera, but the effect is often disappointing. Those well-intentioned implants are ignored by the audience as air, and many works that cost a lot of money have no chance to show their faces.

"What is imposed on the audience is definitely unacceptable. The result is often that the propaganda film is not like a propaganda film, and the feature film is not like a feature film. " Why can a China film promote foreign tourism so effectively? Gao Yang, president of Zhongshun Film, analyzed that in "Embarrassment in Thailand", the audience got a lot of information about Thailand's tourism, such as Thai culture, Buddhism, food, etc., in addition to the jokes and feelings that run through the whole film, but these were not implanted stiffly.

"Love Again" directed by Gao Yang has entered the post-production. Part of the location in the film is taken from the United States, but the purpose of making this film is to "tell an emotional story caused by cultural differences". In Gao Yang's view, the more international a film is, the more it needs to be shot on a global scale. In recent years, American blockbusters have been adding exotic elements, because audiences are largely looking for experiences they don't have. "The location must be novel to a specific audience, and it must promote the story and render specific emotions in a specific scene. This is a perfect combination. " Gao Yang said.

In this regard, many viewers and netizens also feel the same way. In this era of pervasive advertising, it is easy for people to refuse deliberate advertising. Therefore, tourism can have marketing, but it can't be too straightforward. Going straight to the marketing theme and drifting away from the plot will only make the audience feel disgusted.

According to industry insiders, there are many factors that determine whether the film can catch fire and travel, and how long the tourism boom can last. The film does image propaganda to solve the problem of "where to go". Next, the local area should make full use of its own strength to attract more people through satisfactory tourism services, that is, to solve the problem of "whether to go again".

It is reported that there is a serious shortage of Chinese tour guides in Thailand, especially in Chiang Mai, where only 1 1,000 Chinese tour guides are far from meeting the demand. In addition, there is no direct flight, and the price is much higher than other routes. It is still unknown how long the Chiang Mai tourism craze triggered by "Thailand" will last.

"The freshness brought by a movie will eventually pass, and it is impossible for a place to rely entirely on movies to drink." For the current "tourism blockbuster marketing craze", some cultural scholars call on local governments to treat it calmly and avoid blindly following the trend. On the other hand, the development of tourism economy certainly has its advantages, but if too many tourists suddenly come, it may be a disaster for the original ecology of a place.