Forum highlights value of film and TV products in boosting cultural tourism

Forum highlights value of film and TV products in boosting cultural tourism

By Alex Miao

The two-way value of high-quality film and television projects boosting cultural tourism was explored at the opening forum of the 29th Shanghai TV Festival on June 24.

The forum was titled “Fusion with Cultural Tourism through the Art of Imagery.”

"The basis of film and television works are their unique charm and excellence, and they can be used to drive cultural tourism,” said Luo Yi, deputy director-general of Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism.

“But the localities where they are filmed should also boost the development of film and television to help create unlimited possibilities," Luo said.

Examples of successful tourism and culture spinoffs from popular productions were cited as the series "Blossoms Shanghai,” which boosted Shanghai tourism and enhanced Huanghe Road as a new landmark, and the appeal of desert hardship drama "Minning Town," which ignited the development of Ningxia's tourism.

Also "Meet Yourself," about the healing powers of rural life, helped to convert a poor village in Yunnan Province into a tourism location, and “Lost in the Shadows, a suspenser which dealt with the mutual redemption of two “lost” people, highlighted the social comment values of the film and television industry.

"Usually, it takes a lot of effort for a tourism project to become known, but a movie or TV show can do that," said Wendy Tang, deputy director and researcher, at the Institute of Applied Economics at Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.

She said movie and TV producers could collaborate with local cultural tourism to extend the industry chain through technology, develop new products and enhance consumption.

Zeng Yingxue, senior vice president of Perfect World, said "the integration of film and TV productions with cultural tourism is not just a slogan, it can rapidly enhance the influence of a city."

Luo Yi reinforced the forum’s theme by citing the impact on Shanghai of the popular "Three-Body" Chinese science fiction TV series which he said inspired the birth of a radio drama, audiobooks and a live-action experience museum at Madame Tussaud’s Shanghai.

“Read a book, watch a drama and go visit a good place,” Luo Yi recommended, emphasizing the message.