Assessing feasibility of film-induced tourism: the case of Singapore

Assessing feasibility of film-induced tourism: the case of Singapore

This paper discusses the feasibility of introducing film-induced tourism to Singapore. It compares the motivations and demographics of film-induced tourists with general tourists in an attempt to increase the understanding of film-induced tourists. The data was collected through questionnaires with tourists visiting the Singapore Visitors Centre in Singapore and three staff from different departments in the Singapore Tourism Board (STB). The results show that filminduced tourism is a small niche tourism market involving tourists who travel due to films. The results also show that both tourists and STB staff believe Singapore should enhance film-induced tourism. The reasons STB hesitates to introduce this niche tourism are lack of sufficient budget and quality scripts, and Singapore is currently emphasising other forms of tourism that secure increased tourist arrivals. Importantly, South Korea is a strong film-induced tourism competitor that has already established its position in this niche, thus hindering Singapore from venturing into a challenging form of tourism. Overall, it was concluded that it is feasible for Singapore to use films to promote the country but STB would need to get behind such a move.