Does the cinematic depiction of a place deceive viewers’ perception of its reality? Exploring movie-induced destination stereotypes

ABSTRACT

Globalization of media is leading to tourists constructing imagery of unfamiliar destinations. Drawing on the associative memory theory and stereotype content model, this research proposes that cinematic portrayal of a destination would induce stereotypes in the minds of tourists that align with the movie theme. Using Between-subject experiments, the stereotyped perceptions of potential tourists regarding the destination were captured in the form of destination image and personality. The valence of stereotypes is also observed using the various dimensions of the constructs: destination image and personality. Further, based on social cognitive theory, this research explores how individuals’ sensation-seeking trait influences their response to a movie theme and, thus, shapes their travel intentions for the depicted destination. The results of this research may assist destination marketing organisations in devising their positioning and communication strategy regarding a destination such that the elements of story-telling in popular media may not adversely impact the perceptions of potential tourists.

KEYWORDS:

• Destination stereotypes
• destination image
• destination personality
• sensation-seeking trait
• movie genre
• destination marketing

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Aditya Billore

Aditya Billore is an Associate Professor at the Indian Institute of Management Indore, India. His areas of research interest are destination marketing, consumer behaviour, and industrial buying. His teaching interests include sales and distribution management and Experimental research in marketing.