Bernadette Walcher 
The effects of films on destination image and tourists’ decision making process [PDF ebook] 
We have seen it in the movies – let’s see if it’s true

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2016 in the subject Tourism – Miscellaneous, grade: 1, 50, Management Center Innsbruck, language: English, abstract: Homo Sapiens is the story telling animal and for more than 100 years, it is film, more than any other medium, which has taken us on journeys on which we are temporarily drawn into a fictional story. Although the main purpose of a film is not to persuade the audience to travel to a certain place presented in a movie, location placement may stimulate the travel demand. Due to intangibility a main characteristic of services tourists are often faced with uncertainty during their decision making process. Tourism researchers provided empirical proof that movies and television series may help to reduce perceived risks, enhance familiarity and lead to a favourable image formation in consumers’ minds.
Epic story telling can be seen as a main characteristic that unites the film and tourism industry, which both make a living from creating experiences. Within the latter destination image is of paramount importance because it fundamentally affects tourists’ decision making process in which emotions play an essential role. Films and television series are said to communicate emotions and viewers often identify themselves with the stories and places depicted in the movie. Movies can be seen as an effective marketing tool that can lead to high market penetration without the “hard sell” impressions of usual promotional activities. Furthermore films serve as cultural ambassadors that present the uniqueness of a place. Therefore tourism organisations often go into partnership with the film industry and agree to host film crews in order to leverage the effects of film-induced tourism