to the stakeholder matrix they should be kept satisfied—which in most cases they are as the
location in hoping to become a destination will assure that the film industry’s needs are
catered for. However, they have no direct involvement in the design of the film tourism
product. In order to assure sustainable and integrated tourism development, they should
be key players.
The stakeholder map above is not to be seen as a static or fixed presentation of the film
tourism process, as the position of each stakeholder is likely to vary, depending on several
factors. On brown field locations/destinations, previous politics within the destination and
tourism development process can have an influence on how well the stakeholders (community,
businesses and governments) work together. In the case of experiences with
conflicts, the cooperation between these groups might be already hindered. In the case
of green field sites, the cooperation might be easier as there are no preconceptions or
historical conflicting relationships. Another aspect that impacts the planning process is
the level of involvement and the experience of the community in previous tourism planning
processes (see Beeton, 2005, for a more detailed discussion on potential problems
of community involvement in film tourism planning). Thirdly, the appeal and location
of the destination varies. For example, This is England was a critically acclaimed film
in 2007; however, no increase of tourism was reported out of a result of it being filmed
in Cleethorpes. Whether there is a link between the decline of seaside resorts within the
UK or the storyline was not tourism-inducing (although could very well fall under
culture/heritage), is not clear, and supports the claims made here that there is still a
wide lack of investigation. Next, as already outlined above, the interest of the film industry
is crucial. While there is some evidence that suggests a closer collaboration between film
and tourism industries, for example EM Media highlights that “understanding the impact
of film tourism can open up new partnership opportunities regionally and nationally and
enable us to better market to more targeted audiences, the benefits of film in inward investment
terms” (EM Media, 2009). A fifth variable in the planning process is the success of a
film—this will have influence on the amount of tourism that is induced by the film.
Depending on whether it is a small scale, independent film or an internationally acclaimed
commercial film, the audience might consist of a very small niche of movie-goers or a
mass audience. No matter the size of the audience, only a percentage will turn into film
tourists (be that serendipitous, general or specific). Connell and Meyer (2009) echo