Film Festival Tourism
 

The continued expansion of film festivals and their financial support by public authorities is well known. There are clear economic and political benefits derived from investing in cultural events since more visitors come to the venue of the festival and support the local economy through expenditures on lodging, meals, local products and other leisure activities. Further, support for the arts is an appealing political activity since there are no controversies involved and provides prestige for those who are involved. Policy makers also realize that in the increasingly complex tourism business destination marketing has become essential. This development has to be placed into the context of cultural tourism, that is the attraction which museums, historical sites, concerts, large art exhibits and other cultural events offer. Whereas cultural tourism was pretty much restricted to economic elites and special interest groups during most of the past century, it has developed into a significant niche activity for the rapidly expanding upper middle class over the last decades. Film tourism refers to the appeal of locations where well known feature films or televisions series were made. New Zealand benefited from movie-based holiday packages centering on the film set for the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the so-called set-jetting phenomenon. Film tourism also includes amusement parks with special block buster movies sections or film studio theme parks. . The consumption of ‘soft’ cultural products ranging from events to visual representations has become an integral part of the upper middle class life style as is the greater acceptance of having this consumption packaged by external agents. Given the image orientation of our societies both film and film festival tourism have taken on a growing significance in the field of cultural tourism. What however is a relatively recent phenomenon is film festival tourism. It refers to the organized effort to use film festivals as a central incentive to attract cultural tourists or consumers in addition to the film professionals, like buyers, filmmakers and actors, drawn by the theme or the importance of the festival for the film industry. Numerous studies demonstrate the contribution cultural tourism makes to the local economy but few focus specifically on the economic impact of film festival tourism Among the exceptions are an economic impact study carried out this year for the Santa Barbara County Convention revealing that the annual ten-day Santa Barbara Film Festival generates an additional $7.3 million in revenue. A similar result can be culled form the 2004 Film and Visual Media in Austin report which estimates that $9.3 million were generated by the film festival. Realizing these benefits, festivals such as the Rhode Island International Film Festival engage in coordinated festival tourism activities with other community based organizations. A narrower approach is chosen by the upscale Tarrytown House film festival providing to a relatively small audience an expensive package of pre-release films, luxury accommodations on a former estate, meeting with film directors and/or critics and other benefits. The end of the year Judith Christ Tarrytown Film Fest offers 3 nights of accommodations, meals, receptions, ten “groundbreaking” new movies and encounter with Judith Crist and others for about $1.500 per person. In a similar vein the Bahamas International Film Festival in its third year at the upscale Atlantis hotel complex, offered a special package deal with sharply reduced rates for staying at the Atlantis during the early December festival. Eventually this film festival special may also include discounted air fares. Public and private agencies are embracing film festival tourism as facilitating new sources of income both for local business and taxation. For example, in the US the Wisconsin Department of Tourism backed in Madison a new Sundance Cinema Center for independent and foreign films and supported the Beloit International Film Festival that debuted in January 2006. Among some other projects in the US was the Lake Michigan Independent film festival and convention supported through a marketing grant and the Eugene Film Festival in Oregano which received a tourism grant to attract out-of state guests. Offering more than the pilgrims’ rock, the Plymouth Independent film festival started in mid-July 2006 with private backers motivated by the goal of boosting tourism and culture in Massachusetts. Another New England festival, the Newport International Film Festival fest is a prime candidate for film festival tourism given its location, the interest shown by local travel agents and savvy festival management. On the international scale, the Cyprus Tourism Organization generated funding for the first Cyprus International Film Festival. According to news reports the sponsor Vakis Loizides believes that the late March festival combines the glamour of Cannes with the talent of Sundance and places “… Cyprus on the scene of international events. Cultural tourism is a priority for us”. The January Bangkok International Film Festival was well financed by the Tourism Authority of Thailand and had such a great appeal that for some observers the celebration of cinema receded into the background as did its relevance for the local film industry. In Scotland, the Aviemore Film Festival project is backed by several public sector bodies to ensure that Aviemore retains its cachet as a tourism resort. Evidently, success of such ventures into film festival destination tourism cannot be taken for granted. They may succeed if certain conditions are met. For once the festival has to deliver quality programming since the individuals engaged in film festival tourism tend to come from affluent well-educated backgrounds with more refined cinematic tastes. Further the location of the festival must reinforce the attraction of the fest and the festival organizer need to develop a comprehensive travel package in private – public sector partnerships. Ironically this applied to the Havana Film Festival before the current US administration cracked down. U.S. travel agencies offered festival packages and tourists received discounted Havana film festival passes. But there are numerous locations with ready made appeal. Thus Newport, the Bahamas, Telluride, the Hampton as well as the Mexican San Miguel de Allende and Guanajato, are among those fit for effective cultural film tourism In short, if certain conditions are met investment in film festival tourism by the public and/or private sector a film festival is likely to generate additional revenues apart from the soft public diplomacy impact they may have, that is bestowing prestige to the location (or country) hosting them. Claus Mueller New York Correspondent e-mail filmexchange@gmail.com

 

Film Festival Tourism part II
April 2, 2007

As a response to the several inquiries that I have received, this article provides additional information following my December 15 background essay on the emerging field of film festival tourism. As noted before, film festival tourism is part of the rapidly expanding cultural tourism industry that serves a fairly affluent and knowledgeable audience. Conversely, local or national departments of tourism have realized that attracting cultural film tourists generates additional income for the local and regional economy, an assumption born out by several case studies. These departments are listed among the financial sponsors of foreign and domestic film festivals. Apart from those mentioned in my December article, the following film festivals are co-funded out of the tourism budgets: Cayman Islands IFF; Singapore IFF; Ankara IFF; Istanbul IFF; Tirana Cinema Short FF; Zanzibar IFF, actually branding itself as an "East Africa Cultural Tourism Product"; and, in North America, Edmonton IFF, The Osborne Classic FF, and the Santa Fe FF. Individuals engaging in cultural travels are willing to pay for a packaged experience, presumably saving time and energy for a more effective consumption of culture during their trips. It is obvious that reaching affluent culture travelers will generate more income than reaching average beach or mountain tourists. The key to effectively accessing these groups is by selling the experience through a highly individuated and personalized approach. This cultural tourism, which is part of what is also known in the trade as “destination” or “event” tourism is facilitated by the growing discretionary income of upscale groups who are willing to pay thousands of dollars for participating in a film festival, attending a literary event, or listening to Wagner's operas in Bayreuth. The increased interest in film festivals is fueled by exposure to college-based film and communications programs, access to low cost production technologies, rising consumption of visual products through stationary and portable platforms (which, in the US, will reach this year an estimated weekly 40 hours per individual), and the advent of a sensate “here and now” culture. Last but not least, film festivals have become an important part of the cultural landscape surrounding us. Consumption of culture can be used as a factor differentiating audience groups since it serves as a social status symbol. After all, participating in an established film festival in a well-known or exotic and foreign location provides intangible prestige since it reflects a unique experience that can be ranked higher among peers than driving a BMW Socially speaking, there is more to sharing with friends the talk one had with Nicholas Cage or Shirley MacLaine than discussing the acceleration of the upscale car one owns, though access to both actors and car are equally expensive. The profile of the U.S. target audience of cultural tourists who could be or are participating in international film festivals is not surprising. They are classified by the Canadian Tourism Commission as “festival tourism enthusiasts,” if they have participated in at least two festivals on a recent trip. In 2000, they comprised about four million adult Americans, of which about forty percent have taken recent trips to Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe and other countries outside North America with 75% having taken such trips over the last two years--with Mexico and Caribbean listed as the top destinations. Forty five percent come from the “35 to 54” age range. Most festival tourism enthusiasts live in adult-only households and come from middle, upper middle and high-income groups with above average educational achievement. About 1.4 million of the four million festival tourism enthusiasts are grouped as "Performing Arts Festival Tourism Enthusiasts," having attended two or more festivals on a recent trip. About one million reported participation in theatre and music festivals respectively, 720 thousand in literary festivals, and 450 thousand in international film festivals. Among the individuals belonging to the “Themed Community Festivals” group 145 thousand identified past participation in an international film festival. Film Festival Tourism has therefore a solidly mid- and upscale consumer base which is likely to grow in tandem with the establishment of more film festivals, thus a greater ease of access. The Canadian Tourism Commission estimates that the international film festival audience is likely to increase by 40 percent by 2020, an increase far above the national Canadian economic growth rate of 27% for that period. Since there are no indications that the structural characteristics of our societies will change, I suspect that film festival tourism' growth rates will exceed the Canadian estimates. After all, there is a persistent consumption of visual images, an increasing affluence of upscale groups, the packaging of experience, a detachment from the public sphere, a shift towards a leisure life with instant gratifications etc. Further, the niche of film festival tourism has been totally disregarded by the travel industry. This lacuna and the packaging of film festival tourism will be addressed in the next installment. Claus Mueller, New York Correspondent e-mail filmexchange@gmail.com

 

A research on Film Festival Tourism III
April 19, 2007

The previous articles provided the context for the growing film festival tourism phenomenon. In this last installment, more specific information is provided about the participants in festival tourism, the services provided by the few agencies in this new niche market, and the characteristics of the film festivals that would most likely benefit from film festival tourism. As noted before, comprehensive Canadian research on US festival tourism enthusiasts, including those groups who reported 600,000 visits to international film festivals, shows a marked difference from the ‘average’ American adult individual and the common US tourist visiting Canada. Festival enthusiasts are characterized by having reached above average levels of education, coming mostly from adult-only households without children under the age of 18, falling largely into the 34 + age group, and are likely to have traveled abroad during the preceding years. Their average household income reaches $68,100, which is considerably higher than that of the average US household income of $44.200 for 2000, the year of the study. Festival enthusiasts have above average education, with 55% reporting some post secondary education and 31% reporting university graduation. Their consumption patterns in cultural or other areas are shaped by upscale education and income. Thus many of them indicate participation during their trips in local performing arts events, include museums in their travels, and visit historic sites. Further, there is a high preference for culinary activities and international dining, all factors that need to be taken into account when ‘cross marketing’ film festival tourism. These characteristics also hold with some qualifications for European festival enthusiasts, since the systemic characteristics of their ‘post industrial societies’ are close to those found in the United States. To name and to repeat some of the characteristics mentioned in the first parts of this series: changes in the family structure; shift to the private sphere as the principle area of realizing one’s self; visual imagery as one crucial though not determining feature of society; organization of the individual’s or the group’s experience through external agencies like the nanny or lifestyle coach; and finally, consumption of culture, including the unique experience of film festivals bestowing prestige and differentiating the individual festival attendee from others. This socio-economic context combines with the shift to the experience-based society, leading to the emergence of the lucrative and stimulating niche of film festival tourism, which follows the patterns of event and destination tourism. What was packaged in 2006 and 2007 by relatively few agencies and individuals— ranges from the eleven-day, biannual Floating Film Festival cruise from Costa Rica to the Caribbean, costing between $3,300 and $9,500, to the four-day Vancouver International Film Festival package, more affordably priced at $876. These charges do not include airfare nor cover single-occupancy. Spending close to $10,000 for an eleven-day film cruise may strike the observer as excessive, yet in the upscale luxury range of event/destination tourism for affluent travelers, there is sufficient demand. A twelve-day, ‘Five Star Travel Experience,’ The Jews of India, under the guidance of a rabbinical scholar, is now selling-out to the tune of $16,533 per single occupancy. Kayak arranges trips to Milwaukee and provides racecar training at an additional fee of $4,000. In the film festival tourism niche, the standard packaged tour offered by agencies includes accommodations, briefings, breakfasts, lunch, tickets or a festival pass, attendance of the opening or closing night film, and access to parties. The Seattle International Film Festival sold through the Let’s Travel agency based out of L.A a package totaling $1.450 for five days at the 2007 Palm Springs International Film Festival, including airfare. Limited to 20 participants, the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival package offered by the same agency cost $1845 without airfare, and included meals for two days “at some of New York’s best restaurants,” a ticket to one Broadway play, admittance to post-screening discussions and the promise to meet privately with film directors and “other luminaries”. A similar Berlin International Film Festival package was also offered by the Let’s Travel agency, as was a five day package to the Savannah Film Festival for $1,570. Silver Screen Tours prominently features a well-established film professor, Virginia W. Wexman, as the tour leader. This individual could more aptly be called a ‘film tour coach’ or ‘personal handler,’ since she selects the films that participants will be screening and leads the discussion sessions arranged for the group. As those familiar with the U.S. probably know coaching for all areas of every day life including image building, social interaction and culture consumption is becoming rather popular in the US, and will include films as well. The tours that Virginia Wexman handles are booked through a travel agency. The cost of four days at Tribeca with Wexman is $1746, covering hotel, breakfasts, one dinner at an “upscale restaurant”, a tour of New York and other minor items. Similar four-day packages, though including invites for the opening and closing night galas, were offered at $1339 for the 2006 Vancouver International Film Festival, at $1475 for the 2006 American Film Institute festival, and at $1604 for the 2007 Palm Springs International Film Festival. I very much doubt that well-publicized film festival tourism could actually increase the number of visitors to major film festivals such as Tribeca, Berlin, Venice, Cannes or Toronto or that these festivals need or even welcome an influx of films festival tourists. It would be difficult to convince funding or tourism agencies to provide festival funding for that purpose. Also, the larger the festival is, the less intimate is the knowledge of the festival that will be gained by the film festival tourist. Thus, it would be virtually impossible for film festival tourists to have access to film directors, to professionals running the festival, or to press conferences and press screenings. Equally problematic is to receive invitations at major film festivals to the mostly private receptions that are funded by corporations, to award ceremonies, and to the opening and closing parties. Any promise by a travel agency or coach to arrange this access is most questionable. At the Berlinale, more than 4000 journalists were accredited this past year, and only a few of them were able to gain access to festival professionals, parties and ceremonies. The only festival organized for upscale film tourists that has apparently delivered on its promises is the Floating Film Festival. By restricting the audience to 200 participants, as determined by the size of the theater of the luxury cruise ship used, the festival has succeeded in providing an intensive introduction to cinema by featuring outstanding films and influential directors, such as Martin Scorcese. George Anthony, Roger Ebert, Mary Corliss and other professionals have comprised the regular crew, ensuring the quality of the enterprise. It goes without saying that, given its convocation on a luxury liner, the film cruise offers gourmet cuisine and other amenities. As noted previously, the cost does not include airfare to the cruise departure location, and charges for the film cruise run from $ 3,300 to $9,500. The Spiritual Cinema Festival-at-Sea, “specialized in laughter and crying” and sailing from Florida to the US and British Virgin Islands, offers an alternative. Charging from $1,200--$3,000 for a one-week cruise with a 14 long and short films in the screening program, the trip sold out rapidly. Access by film festival tourists to the big film festivals, above and beyond the provision of travel, accommodations, and passes or tickets is rather problematic. If we recall the demographic profile of festival enthusiasts, then film festival tourism seems to be most suited to smaller and regional international film festivals in appealing locations. There, the tastes and desires of film tourists can be more readily catered to. As Andra Takacs from Canadian Film Festival Tours put it, “…the needs of cinema lovers who want to attend the Toronto International Film Festivals are best met [by travel agents] through a highly personalized service…” as distinct from organizing a group for a major fest like Toronto or other large industry oriented film festivals. Thus we are back to the film festivals identified earlier…be it Telluride, the Hamptons, the Bahamas International Film Festival, the Mexican Expresion en Corto in San Miguel d’Allende, or the Newport International Film Festival, to mention but a few. These festivals take place in small but attractive geographical locations which are frequently of historical interest. They are already appealing to upscale tourists due to their exotic, foreign, maritime, or other attributes which are likely to satisfy the artistic, culinary and other leisure interests of visitors. These festivals are important enough to incorporate good productions in their programs, but small enough to permit film festival tourists access to the receptions, film directors, critics, local notables involved in organizing the festival, and other interesting festival participants. To quote Laurie Kirby, who directs the Newport International Film Festival and the California-based Ojai Music Festival, “For a culture raised on the medium film, a natural synergy arises between outstanding cinema and tourist destinations when arranging vacations.” In cooperation with local travel agencies, these festivals can develop cross marketing strategies with effective appeals to the diverse interests of film festival tourists without standardizing their offers. Services can range from a highly individualized, though expensive, program including a local escort (or film coach) for a single cinema tourist to a package for small groups of individuals for participating in the film festival tour guided by a knowledgeable individual. Claus Mueller, New York Correspondent filmexchange@gmail.com Filmfestivas.com is bringing you more insight into the festival economy and the digital direction it is taking. Check on the IFFS blog on fest21.com We were asked recently to moderate a few panels at the festival summit in London on festival funding and sponsorship.