The influence of cinematography and TV fiction on tourism in France

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A trend still emerging in recent years, film tourism, which consists of choosing vacation destinations based on the locations of audiovisual productions, is gaining momentum.

It allows you to have a special experience by immersing yourself in your favorite series or favorite movies. Films and series, highlighting the city, region, way of life, landscapes, cultural traditions, are effective tools for promoting the territory, which in this way gains visibility and attractiveness.

This trend is such that it is the basis of the commercial tourist offer.

CNC commissioned Ifop to conduct a study designed to assess the extent to which exposure to French film or fiction or action in France encouraged tourists to choose this destination.

This study has 3 parts:

  1. Foreign tourists in Paris – face-to-face terrain
  2. Ensemble des Français – Omnibus online
  3. French and foreign tourists in the region – the field face to face

Part 1: Foreign tourists in Paris – face-to-face fieldwork

Different types of stay depending on the nationality of the tourists

  • The surveyed foreign tourists, most of them over 35 years old (53%), mostly came to France for a stay of a week or more (64%). They spend an average of slightly more than 1,700 euros per person (without plane tickets). The longer duration of stay in France and the part dedicated to visiting Paris than in 2018 lead to higher average budget consumption.
  • The conditions of residence are not the same depending on the tested nationality:
    • Chinese and Americans stay longer on French territory than tourists from European countries, and their stay is more often the first in France. The budget spent on site for these longer trips is also more significant. The Chinese stand out even more clearly than the Americans and other nationalities: they are usually the first, with a budget that significantly exceeds the budget of the others.
    • Among the Europeans in France, the Belgians and the English stay the longest. Due to greater geographical and cultural proximity, the Belgians have already achieved

French Fiction: An incentive to come and visit France as strong as ever, now mostly driven by SVOD

  • Very wide exposure to French fiction: 86% of foreign tourists remember seeing at least one French fiction (film or series) in their country of origin. Europeans, and especially Belgians, are the most exposed and the most regular viewers (every 6 months or more).
  • In more detail, 78% of foreign tourists who visit France say that they watched at least one of the tested French films in their country. The most watched films are Intouchables and Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain.
  • Tourists were somewhat less exposed to French series: 56% of surveyed tourists said they watched at least one from the suggested list. Most watched: Versailles, Marie-Antoinette, Transporter, Ten Percent, The Bureau of Legends. â–ª These fictions were primarily watched via SVOD platforms, a method of access that shows a very strong growth compared to 2018 (68% vs. 24% in 2018), regardless of nationality. Far behind are television channels (35%) and cinema (32%), with the latter slightly improving compared to 2018 (with a decline in DVD/Blu-ray).
  • 80% of tourists who were exposed to these fabrications say that they encouraged them to visit France (ie 68% of all tourists), and more than a third really wanted to. An important incentive lever regardless of nationality and which increases with repeated exposure to the works. â–ª French fiction seems particularly promising for tourism among Spaniards: the most exposed and the most receptive. It also represents a very strong attraction vector for Chinese and Americans who, however, are less exposed to it.

Part 2: a survey conducted among all French people

Synthesis

French people are always encouraged to go to the filming locations of French movies or series they have seen.

  • Almost all French people (96%) say they have seen at least one creation from a list of 12 French films and 12 series shot in French regions. 68% were exposed to 5 or more creations.
  • In more detail, exposure to French films (87%) is just as important as series (88%). Both films and series demonstrate the ability to target very different viewer profiles.
  • Exposure to these fictions always piques the French’s interest in the regions where they were filmed. 66% of French people who saw one of these creations said they were compelled to visit the filming locations. An appetite that grows with the number of fictions one is exposed to.
  • Every fourth French person surveyed ventures out and decides to visit a filming location after watching a certain movie or series. Those under 35, CSP- and Parisians are the most numerous to begin with. The decision to visit a filming location is also correlated with the number of feature films viewed.

Part 3: survey conducted among French and foreign tourists in the regions

Synthesis

Cinema and fiction shot in the regions of France:

For French tourists, improving the territory without strongly encouraging local tourism

Strong exposure to local cinematic and fictional works…
For French tourists, the length of stay in the region is characteristic, which is slightly longer than for foreign tourists, and they are more inclined to visit there again. In addition to knowing the regions they visit, tourists have watched a lot of movies and series filmed in those regions. In fact, 80% of them remember watching at least one movie or series filmed in the region of the visit, more than half of which spontaneously. Half of the tourists watch French works every month, mostly on television. High viewership that testifies to cultural attachment and expressed interest in national audiovisual production.

…which encourages the desire to visit the region
Local audiovisual content conveys a positive image of the regions (for 83% of exposed tourists) and encourages the desire to visit, even if it does not encourage a stay: 65% of French tourists said that films or series they saw made them want to visit the region, of which only 19% were very interested, and only 9% of the French attributed their decision to travel to a specific job.

Leverage of tourism and cultural promotion with significant potential among foreign tourists

Relatively low consumption of regional production…
For a stay in a rather exceptional region of France (55% are first-time visitors), foreign tourists generally choose to stay for less than a week. The budget they set aside for their stay in France is slightly smaller than the budget of Parisian tourists. Exposure to films and series shot in the region is significantly lower among foreign tourists: only 37% remember watching at least one film or series shot in the region of the visit (poor recall spontaneous (21%), and remains low even when assisted (34% to the presentation of the list of films and series)). Especially among foreign tourists, SVOD gives new visibility to French films and series and represents the main way of accessing the works.

…leverages that are nevertheless useful for promoting the image of regions and attracting tourists.
After viewing, films and series made in the region have a better influence on foreign tourists than on French tourists, both in terms of image and in terms of incentives to visit the region: 88% believe that they give a positive image of the region. the region, making it interesting to visit, and 73% say that movies or series they watched made them want to visit the region, of which 28% are very interested. Although significantly less exposed, the rate of foreign tourists who stated that their decision to travel follows viewing a certain work represents only a small difference compared to the French (4% vs. 9%).