Impacts of a historical film on the destination image of South America

Abstract

This study examines the destination image of South America among young North American students through the lens of a historic movie with controversial content. The results of the study reveal that South America is perceived as an affordable ecotourism destination, with emphasis on the nature, cultural and heritage attributes of the region. It is also perceived as less developed, secured and westernized than their home environment. It is found that watching the movie has not dramatically changed the destination image of South America, but rather strengthened previous perceptions. Nevertheless, an increasing desire to visit South America is evidenced among the participants. The findings of the study call for more critical and cautious analysis of the phenomenon of film tourism. In addition, it also suggests that with certain conditions even films with controversial plot may contribute to tourism industry of a destination