Kitt Pooncharoen has a dream. It is a modest dream. She wants to visit Korea. But not just anywhere in Korea. She wants to see the locations where her favorite television series were shot.
Lest you think Kitt’s cherished wish is unusual for a 31-year-old woman, keep in mind that she is just one of thousands of groupies around the world who have traveled to see the New York department stores where Sex in the City’s Carrie Bradshaw shops and the cafés where she meets her friends; or the London corner where fictional superstar Anna Scott bumped into low-key bookseller William Thancker in Notting Hill. Who knows how many more have wished for such a trip but been unable to make it.
And just admit it: you have not only laughed and cried along with the characters of the big and small screens, but also been tempted by the siren song of their celluloid haunts, be they office towers, chic restaurants or sweeping valleys and soaring mountains.
Kitt, an office worker, was so charmed by the Korean TV series Sad Love Story that she is working hard to save enough money to afford the on-location trip to Korea next year. She wants to witness the actual house by the sea on Shido Island where the series’ protagonists met after their long separation.
This is not a new hobby for Kitt. Last year, she visited a temple in Hong Kong that was featured in another of her favorite series. “Everything from the plot, characters and locations are so well-crafted into the story that I want to see the real place, where everything happens,” she explains.
There are enough movie maniacs who share Kitt’s desires that Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) and the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) see specialized “on-location” packages as a new revenue channel.
The KTO is busy marketing a tie-in to the latest and most popular TV series, Daejanggeum (Jewel of the Palace), the story of a young woman who gains political influence thanks to her impressive culinary skills. The series has not only been a boon to tourism, but also to Korean cuisine.
Meanwhile, TNZ is launching a campaign tied to the new film adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Since 2001, TNZ has based tour packages around The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Last Samurai and King Kong.
Roskamol Vongchowanart, TNZ manager for Thailand, says the campaign only supplements the usual promotions, because only 10 percent of the 20,484 Thai tourists who visited New Zealand last year were determined to see the locations of Lord of the Rings.
The sparsely populated country’s biggest attractions, he says, are its untouched natural treasures. But if tourists come to follow in the footsteps of their favorite elves, dwarves, orcs and lions, so much the better.
The situation is quite different for KTO, Korea being a closer and cheaper destination for Thai travelers. Countless film fans have given Korean tourism a definite boost, says Punmate Na Ranong, KTO manager. Although the on-location tours haven’t made a big splash so far, cinema-chasing tourists appear to have changed the industry’s statistics anyway. It used to be that about 60 percent of the tourists inbound from Thailand were on business trips. But last year, business travel only accounted for 40 percent of Thai trips to Korea.
The widespread interest in the northwesterly peninsula began when Autumn In My Heart, shot on Korea’s Nami Island, swept Thailand several years ago. That series was followed by Winter Love Song (2003) and Full House (2004).
Last year, 102,588 Thai tourists entered Korea, a 31.1-percent increase on the previous year. That figure is the highest on record since the establishment of KTO, 23 years ago.
Komsan Klai-mee, manager of Marco World Tour, which organizes tours to Korea, says KTO’s statistics ring true. His business increased from some 70,000 customers in 2003 to more than 100,000 last year. He attributes the trend to the Korean series, which make their locations seem attractive all year long: Autumn In My Heart depicts the changing seasons of Nami Island, while Winter Love Song portrays the same island covered in snow. “It’s been a lot easier to sell tour packages,” he says.
KTO’s Punmate says the series have also made it easier for tourists to plan their trips. However, the on-location tourists tend to be younger, and therefore spend less money than business travelers.
Punmate says that, although the younger group generates only one percent of total tourism revenue, local businesses have cooperated with the on-location promotions. Most of the houses that were used in the films were well-maintained, even posted with helpful signs, for the benefit of tourists from Japan, China, Taiwan and Thailand.
Source: IHT 13 Dec 2005
RSS 2.0