MOVIES AS A TOOL OF MODERN TOURIST MARKETING

The contemporary tourist market hosts intense competition amongst countries and particularly amongst those that their economy is supported, to a rather critical extent, by tourism business. All countries try to promote their tourist products using various marketing techniques. International experience reveals that movies constitute an important marketing tool which can effectively serve the strategy for promotion of tourism destinations. Landscapes, significant heritage sites, festivals, attractions and historical monuments have quite often been selected as film shooting locations. Evidence shows that such films may, under certain circumstances, induce “film tourism”, a phenomenon where local economies eventually enjoy an increase in visitor numbers and related benefits after the circulation of the relevant movie.