From the Screen to the Field: The Influence of Film on Tourism and Recreation

Abstract

Travel literature, stories, art and poetry have influenced people's choice of leisure, recreational and tourism activity. From the former British Tourism Authority's promotion of Burns Country and Bronte Country through to Australia's utilisation of Crocodile Dundee, activities from purely ‘gazing’ through to partaking in active, outdoor recreation have developed. In the 21st Century, fictional film (movies and TV series) has taken over from literature as the most influential form of popular media, creating strong emotional ties to areas and can present certain activities that visitors and recreationists desire to imitate or experience. For example, the 1988 Australian movie, The Man from Snowy River spawned an adventure horseback industry, including commercial safari operations, an increase in recreational ‘bush’ horse riding, a semi-professional bush racing circuit celebrating the skills demonstrated in the movie and, for the first time, urban membership of the Mountain Cattlemen's Association. In spite of such powerful cases, film, both in the cinema and on television, is an under-studied yet crucial motivator for many leisure activities that can have negative as well as positive impacts on our economic, social and natural environment. This paper considers many of these elements, applying reflexive, autoethnographic, participant-observation material and case studies to the topic.