Tourism itself is often looked at in terms of its impacts on a destination. These impacts are labelled as socio-cultural (the impact of tourism on people), economic (the impact of tourism on the economy of a country) and environmental (the impact of tourism on the environment of a destination) (Moyle, Weiler and Croy, 2012). For the purpose of this paper, which explores the literature available on the topic, the main impact focused on is that of economic impacts which can be both positive and negative with tourism often providing jobs but with said employment often being seasonal in nature (McCole, 2013). Film induced tourism is a relatively new and fast growing niche in tourism, showing a phenomenal growth rate in the past decade or more (Prabakaran and Panchanatham, 2013). In 1991, the Irish film industry employed 694 individuals either directly or indirectly (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2011). The same industry today provides employment for over 6,000 people through businesses that are both directly and indirectly linked with the production needs of a film or television programme. The industry is now estimated to be worth over €550 million to the Irish economy (Humphreys, 2014). Film induced tourism should be considered a priority in Ireland in the future as the image of a location is clearly a high factor when deciding on a holiday destination for many tourists whose first impression of an area can often come from what they see on the silver screen (O'Connor, 2011). It should be noted that with proper planning and organisation Ireland can become a major competitor in this area as there is a wide range of both film and television programmes being shot in the country (Heitmann, 2010).
References;
Heitmann, S. (2010). Film Tourism Planning and Development—Questioning the Role of Stakeholders and Sustainability. Tourism and Hospitality Planning & Development, 7(1), pp.31-46.
Humphreys, H. (2014). An Roinn Ealaíon, Oidhreachta agus Gaeltachta. [Online] Ahg.gov.ie. Available at: http://www.ahg.gov.ie/ga/speech/speech-by-minister-for-arts-heritage-the-gaeltacht-heather-humphreys-t-d-ireland-and-the-cultural-economy-the-arts-as-a-gateway-to-business-tourism/ [Accessed 22 Nov. 2015].
McCole, D. (2013). Seasonal Employees: The Link between Sense of Community and Retention. Journal of Travel Research, 54(2), pp.193-205.
Moyle, B., Weiler, B. and Croy, G. (2012). Visitors' Perceptions of Tourism Impacts: Bruny and Magnetic Islands, Australia. Journal of Travel Research, 52(3), pp.392-406.
O’Connor, N. (2011). A conceptual examination of the film induced tourism phenomenon in Ireland, European Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Recreation, 2(3); 105-125.
Prabakaran, N. and Panchanatham, N. (2013). Niche Tourism Products of India. Abasyn Journal of Social Sciences, 6(1), pp.53 - 64.
PricewaterhouseCoopers, (2011). Creative Capital; Building Ireland's Audiovisual Creative Economy. [Online] PricewaterhouseCoopers. Available at: http://www.irishfilmboard.ie/files/Creative%20Capital%20Web-1.pdf [Accessed 2 Oct. 2015].
