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Abstract
PurposeThe visitor economy of Forks now clearly relies upon a niche form of tourism – as fans of The Twilight Saga are drawn to the setting and filming location of the films. The purpose of this study is to consider the process of diversification and subsequently present recommendations that could inform a future diversification strategy for Forks, in preparation for a post-film tourism scenario.Design/methodology/approachThe research methods employed in this study have two interlinked but distinct elements. Firstly, the Twilight Effect in Forks (WA, USA) is considered as an illustrative case study to shed light on the issues facing a destination that has seen a tourism boom as a direct result of popular culture – The Twilight Saga Franchise. Secondly, a scenario thinking and planning approach is applied when considering the “long-view” future of tourism in Forks.FindingsThis article presents a post-film tourism future scenario for Forks; it suggests tourism diversification and a shift towards cultural heritage and wellness. Forks is well placed to afford such tourism experiences, as it offers unique cultural and natural characteristics; furthermore, these could be utilised to create and maintain a distinctive destination image. In doing so a more socially and environmentally sustainable industry can be established, one which supports the local community, including the Quileute tribe.Originality/valueThe article offers original discussions within the film-tourism literature with novel approaches to understanding the management and pre-planning opportunities for destinations that have become popular film tourism locations, with the application of a “Tourism Diversification Model”. The model is adapted from Ansoff Matrix and can be applied as a framework in future studies exploring destination diversification. The investigation of Forks as a post-film tourism case study alone is unique, and the discussions and findings presented are original.
Highlights
The Twilight Effect refers to the surge in literary and film tourism in Forks, Washington State – USA, following the release of a series of books and subsequent films, The Twilight Saga
As noted by Heitmann (2010, p. 36), when discussing filminduced tourism, “planning has received only limited attention, as the subjects of studies so far focus more on marketing, image, and tourist experience” By applying a futures scenario approach as its methodology, this study explores how Forks can continue to draw in tourists when its film visitors begin to fade in numbers
This study examines the transitional nature of tourism in Forks and applies a scenario thinking and planning method to present a potential vision of the future tourism industry in the destination
Summary
The Twilight Effect refers to the surge in literary and film tourism in Forks, Washington State – USA, following the release of a series of books and subsequent films, The Twilight Saga. This can be referred to as post-film tourism when the original tourism boom, based around a popular culture theme, begins to decline This article addresses this issue and in doing so, it offers original discussions within the film-tourism literature and considers potential solutions to a problem that seems increasingly likely to shape the futures of destinations that are left behind by this type of tourism. Forks is geographically remote with only a small tourism industry pre-Twilight and it is both a book setting and movie location It can be considered as an extreme case study which may shed light on the impact of a popular culture phenomenon on small film-tourism reliant destinations. The five movies that were produced on the back of the novels were entitled the following: 1. Twilight (2008)
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