TV and Tourism
Countries have been using media as a way to promote themselves and attract tourists; hotels and airlines have been using it massively. However, there is much more influence other than direct marketing to tourism than we realize. It happens all the time; a certain scene of a popular movie takes place in some restaurant, and that place starts booming. Either intentional or not, movies and TV shows affect tourism a lot. It determines the tourist profile that visits those places. For instance, I just came across a video about how Turkish soap operas have been affecting tourism in Istanbul, especially from the Islamic regions.
Recently, many of Turkish shows have been shown in Middle Eastern countries; and since then, tourism from those countries increased highly. It is a hugely growing trend; many of these tourists never been to Turkey before but lately all the flights are full and hotels are packed. The video has interviews of people about how they decided to visit Istanbul and they all give similar answers saying that they’ve been seeing it on TV and considered it would be nice to see the country themselves. Those TV shows proved that they would be comfortable in the country since the culture is very similar but also more liberal. None of the other mediums portrayed Turkey to tourists the way those shows did. You cannot get that kind of information from the web, newspapers or travel agencies. TV is a culturally subjective medium, and it is different in each country. It has a substantial effect on people relative to other media; and it definitely has an indirect influence on the travel industry as well.
Recently, many of Turkish shows have been shown in Middle Eastern countries; and since then, tourism from those countries increased highly. It is a hugely growing trend; many of these tourists never been to Turkey before but lately all the flights are full and hotels are packed. The video has interviews of people about how they decided to visit Istanbul and they all give similar answers saying that they’ve been seeing it on TV and considered it would be nice to see the country themselves. Those TV shows proved that they would be comfortable in the country since the culture is very similar but also more liberal. None of the other mediums portrayed Turkey to tourists the way those shows did. You cannot get that kind of information from the web, newspapers or travel agencies. TV is a culturally subjective medium, and it is different in each country. It has a substantial effect on people relative to other media; and it definitely has an indirect influence on the travel industry as well.
I'm really proud of Turkey's television presence too!!! :)
ReplyDeleteTelevision seems perfect for leaving such impressions because the viewing is passive - people watch and take it all in to trigger their happy emotions and so whatever is seen gets associated with those same emotions.
Go Turkey!!!!
I totally agree that T.V is proabably one of the strongest media tools that advertises things around us. I actually like this because I never watch ads, but I watch T.V. So people can promote their products, countries, places, food through T.V without the audience's notice. I think it's the way it should be done, since ads usually contain many unnecessary good information about products. This way, it is up to the audience whether to get influenced or not.
ReplyDelete