Bollywood led tourism
We Indians breathe movies. The things that our dreams are made of are inspired directly or indirectly by what we see on the silver screen. And don’t we all agree that the scenic backdrops ‘as seen in the movies’ are just irresistibly inviting? It is the reach and influence of cinema in India that has worked as wonder for not just brands but also travel destinations. And of course there’s this whole list of destinations that became a tourist magnet after being featured in Bollywood movies.
Silsila yeh vaadiyon ka…
The list though endless begins with Switzerland. From Raj Kapoor’s Sangam to the romantic sagas by the Late Yash Chopra, Switzerland’s lush green meadows, snow-capped Alps and pristine lakes form the honeymoon dreams of most Indians.
In the iconic Silsila, Bollywood’s hottest pair ever, Amitabh-Rekha glowered amongst the Keukenhof tulip gardens in The Netherlands. No wonder affluent Indian couples of the early 1980s dreamt of running into each other’s arms across the colorful fields.
London with its scenic backdrops and the hub of NRIs is a close contender amongst desirable destinations. Other European destinations would be Italy post the Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam effect, Spain with credits to Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara and Prague for being showcased as a street music destination in Rockstar.
The US cities of New York and Las Vegas have been extensively used as the resident cities as well as story subjects for several Bollywood movies thereby making them desirable for Indians travelling abroad.
Australia with its elaborate coastline has been showcased as a great beach destination. The reference here can be Salam Namaste, Chak De India and Dil Chahta Hai. A more recent entrant to the list is Turkey, especially Istanbul. Hagia Sophia Church served as the perfect backdrop for the poignant starting of Sanyaara in Ek Tha Tiger.
Closer home, we see Goa, Kashmir and Ladakh as the top favorite Bollywood inspired destinations. While Goa’s rocking beaches and parties have been featured in countless movies, Kashmir valley and Dal Lake have been the perfect backdrop for some of the most memorable Bollywood songs as well. Off-lately, we’ve seen the barren landscape of Ladakh and the incredibly beautiful Pangong Lake showcased in movies like 3 Idiots and Jab Tak Hai Jaan. This has put Ladakh on the world map and made it a part of the most desirable road trip lists globally.
The numbers speak:
Switzerland being the favorite has registered a continuous growth y-o-y. The year 2012 saw about 20% growth in Indian tourist influx to the country. The change however is in the destinations being picked. Besides the popular cities of Zurich, Interlaken and Lucerne, Indian are also exploring Basel, Lausanne and Ticino for their Bollywood connect.
London has over 480,000 resident Indians who impact the inbound tourism from their native country. This makes it difficult to isolate the Bollywood-led tourism figures. However, with the repeated coverage that the British capital gets in Bollywood movies, this influence cannot be ignored.
In case of Spain, the year 2010 (when Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara was making news) saw as many as 70,000 Indian tourists flocking the country accounting to a growth of 9.5% in inbound tourism as compared to the previous year. The next year 2011, when the movie was released, the growth was 40% with destinations like Costa Brava, Seville, Pamplona, Barcelona and Valencia (showcased in the movie) forming a part of the itinerary.
For Prague, the figures were 30% growth with all credits to the buzz created by Rockstar.
Even while the ‘Italy’ mentioned in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam was Budapest, Hungary and not Italy, the country saw a surge of about 20% in the inbound tourism and put it on the Indian tourism radar.
While New York has had continuous Indian tourists’ influx, the figures of 2011 show as many as 200,000 Indians visiting the city. This was post the prominent feature of the city in big banner movies such as New York and My Name is Khan. Las Vegas also saw an increasing interest from Indian tourists post the elaborate showcase of its casinos and night life in Bollywood movies. The figures show a 16% increase in 2012.
In case of Australia, India features in the top 10 markets for inbound tourism and has registered a moderate 6.9% growth in the year 2012. Turkey has been the biggest gainer with a whopping 30% increase in Indian tourists’ numbers. This can be attributed to both Bollywood as well as increasing trade-ties between the two countries.
On the domestic side, we saw how Dil Chahta Hai bailed out Goa from the gloomy tourism period post the 9/11 terror attacks in New York. By what proved to be a super effective strategy, Goa Tourism Board invested Rs 3 Crore for joint promotion of the movie and roped in nearly Rs 30 Crore profit.
Irrespective of the terrorism reports and tensions in the Kashmir valley, the heaven on earth has always had its fare share of tourists. While movies like Roja and Mission Kashmir showed the dark side of Kashmir and had a negative impact on tourism, there are movies like Aandhi, Kashmir ki Kali and the more recent Jab Tak Hai Jaan among others that have inspired travelers to visit the valley. As per the state government, there has been an increase of 172% in tourist rush during the last two decades!
