Slumdog Millionaire

In the case of Slumdog Millionaire, however, some of the travel spin-offs have sparked controversy. Part of the movie was set in the Dharavi district, Asia’s largest slum, where one million people live in squalor in an area smaller than New York’s Central Park. Mumbai-based Reality Tours and Travel is now offering guided tours of the hellhole. The excursion’s “highlights” include a stop at a stall of six toilets that serves 16,000 people and a stroll alongside a river so black and septic that it oozes rather than flows.

“In India, a lot of people think the movie is poverty porn,” said Reality Tours co-founder Chris Way in a recent interview. But he insists that criticism of his tours, whose sales are up by about 25 percent since Slumdog Millionaire’s release, “comes from misunderstanding what we are trying to do, which is break down the negative image of slums, and highlight the industry and sense of community.” Reality Tours charges $10 or $20 a person, depending on length of the tour, and pledges to donate 80 percent of after-tax profits to local charities.
 
Other tourism operators have begun leading curious, rich Westerners into famous slums, from the townships of Soweto to the favelas of Brazil. “The jury’s still out on whether the tours are perverse invasions of privacy or eye-opening experiences that will prompt action on the poverty agenda,” Christine Bowers, a consultant for the World Bank, said on her blog.

There is no doubt though that popular movies can provide financial bonanzas for savvy marketers. The most striking recent example occurred in New Zealand, the backdrop for The Lord of the Rings, where an intensive tourism campaign spanned the three years of the trilogy’s film releases. The island nation has christened itself “New Zealand: Home of Middle-earth” (the world in which the Rings’ fantasy plays out). Air New Zealand has emblazoned four aircraft with giant images from the films and there is even a government-appointed Minister of the Rings. The payoff? The annual tourist influx to New Zealand has jumped from 1.7 million in 2000 to 2.4 million today–a 40 percent surge–attributed to a large degree to The Lord of the Rings phenomenon, and a big upgrade for New Zealand’s international profile.

Similarily, the Harry Potter movies have inspired tourists with children to visit a variety of locales in Britain where tour companies have organized itineraries that include, if not the actual Diagon Alley or Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, then some of the sites that served as those imaginary settings on the big screen. Locations included Gloucester Cathedral (Hogwarts), North Yorkshire Moors Railway (Hogsmeade station) and Alnwick Castle (Hogwarts again). VisitBritain, the tourism body responsible for selling England to the Brits and Britain to the non-Brits, invested heavily in movie tie-ins: 340,000 Harry Potter location maps were printed.

Several British locales featured in The Da Vinci Code, such as Temple Church in London, Burghley House in Lincolnshire, and Rosslyn Chapel, a 15th-century Scottish church (pictured here), found themselves invaded by a wave of fanatical amateur sleuths after the film’s release in May 2006. In fact, the hullabaloo surrounding The Da Vinci Code led to an unprecedented partnership among national tourism agencies in Britain, France and Scotland, who teamed together to showcase locations, destinations and attractions linked with the film. The three agencies developed a tour program called “Seek the Truth” with Sony Pictures, and high-speed rail service Eurostar to offer tourists a chance to “follow in the footsteps of the film’s main characters.

Japan’s tourism industry has gotten a lift from several recent films, including Lost in Translation, The Last Samurai and Memoirs of a Geisha, even though much of the latter was actually shot in California. Meanwhile, several Caribbean islands have capitalized on the box-office success of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie trilogy. Tourists in the Bahamas can take a 25-minute boat ride to Blackbeard’s Cay, visit the Pirates of Nassau Museum and see Fort Charlotte’s underground passages and dungeons. St. Lucia has the Brig Unicorn, an authentic 140-foot replica of an 18th century ship which was featured in The Curse of the Black Pearl, while Dominica has Shipwreck Cove and a cruise up Pantano River where the Black Pearl anchored.

Visits to scenic Phi Phi Leh island, near Phuket, Thailand, soared after Alex Garland’s novel, The Beach, was turned into a 2000 film there starring Leonardo DiCaprio, but not everyone was pleased that the film makers had chosen to shine Hollywood’s lights on the uninhabited island. Despite strict conservation laws, the Thai government let the film crew dig up more than half the beach at Maya Bay to plant coconut trees–destroying roots holding the dunes together.

An unexpected monetary windfall was created by Sideways, a modest comedy about two middle-aged men embarking on a wine-tasting tour in California. The 2004 film generated more than 600 media stories highlighting Santa Barbara as a travel destination–the equivalent of $4-million worth of advertising, a major cash injection for what had previously been an overlooked and often ignored part of the California wine business. Businesses in the Santa Barbara area have reported an increase in trade of up to 30 per cent since the film’s release, with wineries on the Sideways’ map receiving a rise of up to 42 per cent.

Although the power of celluloid to spur tourism is now widely recognized, the movie credited with opening people’s eyes to the phenomenon is the 1986 comedy Crocodile Dundee, which became Australia’s highest grossing film ever and made an international star out of unknown actor Paul Hogan. One survey credited the movie with doubling visitor numbers to Queensland in three years. Interestingly, many Australians initially objected to the film, claiming that it confirmed the general image of Australian backwardness and “outback”-ness rather than affirming the image of a modern urban society. Hogan’s response to the criticism was nothing if not direct: “People are so dumb sometimes in Australia. What are we going to do, put a nice sensible hard-working accountant in a film and say: ‘Here’s a typical Australian, hard-working, industrious. Everyone would yawn and say, Never go to Australia.’”

In terms of long-term tourist impact, however, the piece of cinema that can stake a strong claim to being the most successful of all is the all-singing, all-dancing, all-yodelling Hollywood classic The Sound of Music, which was set in Salzburg, Austria. One out of three Japanese have seen it, and it’s what draws 75 per cent of all American tourists to Salzburg. More than 40 years after the film’s release, some 300,000 fans por into the city every 12 months on the strength of the musical, with 40,000 taking the official Sound of Music Tour. Evidently, the hills are alive with the sound of cash registers.

Photo Credits:

#1: boston.com

#2: teako170.com

#3: templars.wordpress.com

#4: thgholidays.com

#5: blog.goethe.de

Michael Scott, the entrepreneur who opened the attraction in July 2008, said in a Reuters interview that there is plenty of demand for the $83 thrill with the venue even boasting one celebrity croc, the 5.1 metre long Burt, who starred in the Australian movie Crocodile Dundee. “In the Northern Territory, the saltwater crocodile is an icon and is part of our life. They are always in the news, either in someone’s swimming pool or killing someone’s favourite horse,” said Scott.

Saltwater crocodiles, known locally as “salties,” are earth’s largest reptile, with males growing up to seven metres long and weighing more than 1,000 kilograms. They are found across Southeast Asia, but the highest numbers inhabit northern Australia. Not fussy eaters, these crocs will dine on monkeys, kangaroo, wild boar, dingos, birds, domestic livestock, pets, water buffalo, sharks and humans. Most prey animals are killed by the creature’s incredible jaw pressure. The saltwater crocodile reportedly has a bite force of 3,800 pounds, about the same as a Tyrannosaurus Rex. To put this in perspective, the bite of a five metre “saltie” would be like a 3.5 tonne diesel truck landing on your foot. And that’s not taking into account the effect of the teeth. Few people who have experienced the sensation have lived to tell of it. One who did was a veterinarian at a Taiwanese zoo who was doing medical work on a saltwater crocodile in April 2007, when the inadequately sedated animal suddenly awoke and bit his forearm off. After seven hours of surgery, the appendage was successfully reattached.

Although saltwater crocodiles are definitely dangerous, fatal attacks on humans in Australia are actually quite rare. Since 1971, there have been 74 documented attacks–22 of which have been fatal. The most recent occurred in October 2008 in Queensland when Arthur Booker, 62, went out to check some crab pots on a crocodile-infested river in the state’s north. Booker’s wife, Doris, later found the crab pot with the rope severed, and a video camera on the riverbank alongside crocodile claw marks. A search for Booker located his watch and sandals nearby. Two weeks later his remains were found inside a 4.5 metre crocodile.

Austraila is not the only place to employ these prehistoric giants as a tourist draw. At several crocodile farms in Thailand gaping spectators gather to watch young men perform stunts like reaching down the throats of crocodiles and even putting their heads between the jaws. Alligator wrestling also was once a mainstay of the Florida tourist industry, but changing public tastes and determined pressure from animal activists has recently put this form of entertainment on the endangered list.

However, in northern Australia the connection runs deeper. The crocodile, which is an important figure in aboriginal culture, appearing frequently in stories, songs and artwork, has emerged as a symbol of the region. The Townsville Crocs are one of the region’s pro basketball teams. There are car rental companies, hotels, restaurants, and even an ice cream bar named after crocodiles. And this fascination shows no signs of slowing down. In 2007, the Australian film industry produced not one, but two thrillers about killer crocs.

Blackwater transports viewers into the Australian swamplands with three luckless twentysomething tourists. The trio, relaxing on a boat tour, have barely cracked open their first beer when a man-eating crocodile knocks them overboard, consumes their tour guide and then chases them up a mangrove tree. Rogue recounts the story of a group of tourists on a river cruise whose boat is rammed from below and sinks into a swamp. The terrified sightseers find themselves marooned on a tiny island that turns out to be the lair of a huge, man-eating saltwater crocodile.  The promotional poster for Rogue evoked the famous Jaws image, depicting a monstrous crocodile emerging from the gloom beneath a flailing swimmer. The film’s catchline is “Welcome to the Territory.”

The most expensive Australian horror film ever made, Rogue was written and directed by Greg McLean, who hit box-office paydirt in 2005 with his grisly thriller Wolf Creek, in which three backpackers whose car has broken down in the Outback fall prey to a lone maniac who kidnaps and tortures them. Before its release, Australian tourism officials expressed fears that Wolf Creek, which is based on a true story, would deter foreigners from visiting the country’s outback. Instead, backpacker visitors to Oz actually increased by nine per cent during the year after the film was released.

Given this evidence, instead of scaring the crapola out of prospective visitors, tourism reps said that they expected Rogue to attract visitors to the Northern Territory. Tourism Top End president Sylvia Wolf noted that the prospect of dicing with danger, whether it is with a mad murderer or a giant crocodile, appears to boost tourist numbers. “Whenever we have a bad accident or somebody gets taken by a croc, it seems that the interest goes up,” she said.

Maree Tetlow, managing director of the Northern Territory Tourist Commission, also predicted an increase. “Crocodiles and national parks are big attractions for visitors to the Northern Territory and potentially the movie will showcase both.”

Even so, not all Australians are sold on the idea of crocodiles as a tourist magnet. A major controversy erupted earlier this year over the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to relocate a crocodile 1,000 kilometres from Bamaga, in far north Queensland, to Barramundi Creek, south of Townsville, as part of a scientific experiment to see whether it would establish a new home range. In October, just a few weeks after Arthur Booker’s gruesome demise, the crocodile, dubbed Whitey by locals, shifted itself to a more luxurious location off the popular Magnetic Island resort. Tourist operators were incensed when beaches were closed after Whitey was spotted, and a local council candidate organized a “Stop the Croc” rally.

But Queensland Tourism Minister Desley Boyle claimed that crocodiles in waters close to populated areas were actually a boon to tourism because it lured international tourists wanting up-close photos. “The fascination with our wildlife, including our dangerous wildlife, is a drawcard to tourists in the tropics, far from it being a barrier or a means of dissuading them from coming,” she said. 

Boyle’s comments did not sit well with local business people who began organizing a campaign to have her sacked. At the same time, opposition politicians started clamouring for an official probe into the Environmental Protection Agency’s crocodile management program. As for Whitey, he later died died of starvation in an EPA holding pen, having swallowed 25 plastic shopping and garbage bags and a plastic wine cooler bag that prevented him digesting food.

Photo Credits:

#1: ntnews.com.au

#2: dailymail.co.uk

#3: videogum.com

#4: premium.asia.cnn.com