Case Studies 2013
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Editorial: Film London and the EuroScreen Partnership Contact address: euroscreen@filmlondon.org.uk London, UK, 2013
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The Attraction of Screen Destinations Case Studies 2013
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Contents 1. Executive Summary......................................................................................................... 07 1.1 EuroScreen Baseline Study....................................................................................... 08 1.2 Case Studies................................................................................................................ 08 2. Júzcar: ‘Smurf Village’...................................................................................13 2.1 Location Background.....................................................................................................14 2.2 Production Story............................................................................................................14 2.2.1 The Smurfs..................................................................................................................14 2.2.2 The Birth of ‘Smurf Village’..................................................................................... 14 2.2.3 Future Plans and Challenges.................................................................................. 14 2.3 Socio-Economic Impacts............................................................................................... 15 2.3.1 New Tourism Products........................................................................................... 15 2.3.2 Long Term Effects on Tourism............................................................................... 15 2.4 Conclusions......................................................................................................................16 3. Malta: ‘Popeye Village’...................................................................................19 3.1 Location Background ....................................................................................................20 3.2 Production Story ...........................................................................................................20 3.2.1 Popeye...........................................................................................................................20 3.2.2 The Birth of ’Popeye Village’................................................................................... 21 3.2.3 Future Plans and Challenges................................................................................... 21 3.3 Socio-Economic Impacts............................................................................................... 21 3.3.1 New Tourism Products........................................................................................... 22 3.3.2 Long Term Effects on Tourism............................................................................... 22 3.4 Conclusions......................................................................................................................23 4.Sandomierz: Father Matthew........................................................................25 4.1 Location Background.....................................................................................................26 4.2 Production Story ...........................................................................................................26 4.2.1 The Production Background................................................................................... 26 4.2.2 Father Matthew in Sandomierz................................................................................ 26 4.3 Socio-Economic Impacts............................................................................................... 27 4.4 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................28 5. Municipality of Ystad;The ‘Wallander Effect’.............................................31 5.1 Location Background ....................................................................................................32 5.2 Production Story ...........................................................................................................32 5.2.1 The Wallander Story and the Movies................................................................... 32 5.2.2 The ‘Wallander Effect’............................................................................................... 32 5.2.3 Future Plans and Challenges................................................................................... 33 5.3 Socio-Economic Impacts............................................................................................... 33
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5.3.1 New Tourism Products........................................................................................... 33 5.3.2 Long Term Effects.....................................................................................................34 5.4 Conclusions......................................................................................................................35 5. Credits...........................................................................................................39
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Executive Summary
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Introduction to EuroScreen Screen tourism demonstrates the power of film, TV and commercials, as well as games, mobile and internetbased content in attracting tourists to visit destinations seen on screen. It is evidenced through countless productions shot and set in locations all over the world. EuroScreen is a project specifically designed to capitalise on the major economic and cultural opportunities presented through screen tourism. The three year project, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund and made possible by the INTERREG IVC programme, aims to exploit the screen sector as a proven catalyst for tourism development through the alignment of policies between the screen and tourism industries. By establishing clear links between the two industries, EuroScreen aims to increase screen and tourism SMEs’ understanding of the benefits of working together, thus encouraging cross sector collaboration. The EuroScreen partnership consists of nine organisations across eight different EU regions, including regional development agencies, film commissions and a higher education institution: • Film London (UK), Lead Partner • Apulia Film Commission (Italy) • Bucharest Ilfov Regional Development Agency (Romania) • Fondazzjoni Temi Zammit (Malta) • Lund University, Department of Service Management (Sweden) • Maribor Development Agency (Slovenia) • Promalaga (Spain) • Rzeszow Regional Development Agency (Poland) • Ystad Municipality (Sweden)
1.1 EuroScreen Baseline Study The EuroScreen baseline study is an assessment and comparative study of screen tourism activity across the project’s eight participating regions, published by EuroScreen in 2013. It can be downloaded from the EuroScreen website. Based on the analysis of screen tourism experience within the EuroScreen partnership, in addition to relevant regional, national and international examples included in the baseline study, five best practices emerge as essential for successful work in the development of screen tourism: • • • • •
Policy Initiatives – essential for creating a long-term effect since policies trigger development activities and demonstrate a commitment to funding and resourcing work in this area. Strategic Partnerships (public-public) – in order to fulfil the developed policies there is a need for ongoing collaboration between public organisations and stakeholders which are far more effective than short-term partnerships for one-off projects. Strategic Partnerships (public-private) – there is a need for strategic partnerships between the public and private sector since the private sector often delivers services to tourists. Crucially, this includes partnerships with production companies, for example to secure access to publicity materials. Destination Development – the initiated policies and the resulting strategic partnerships create a sustained impact on the overall destination development, including increased visitor figures, product development and also benefit the local community and SMEs. Commercial operators, SMEs and other organisations – private sector initiatives and the creation of new tourist products need to be encouraged in order to capitalise on the interest for screen tourism.
1.2 Case Studies The four case studies presented in this document have been selected for their demonstration of good practice, as identified in the baseline study. The Euroscreen partnership comprises a diverse group of regions from both urban and rural environments across the EU, all with the potential for growth, and the case studies illustrate this variation.
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Júzcar and ‘Smurf Village’
This case study is unusual in terms of screen tourism as the destination was used solely for the promotion of the film rather than having served as a filming location. The publicity of The Smurfs (2011) had an immediate but also long term effect on the tourism figures of Júzcar and is a good example of strategic co-operation between a public body (the Municipality) and a private partner (an advertising agency). It also demonstrates the successful development of a destination and the creation of new tourism products.
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Malta and ‘Popeye Village’ This case study shows how existing policy initiatives help to attract new productions to a location and also looks at the survival of a film set (Popeye, 1980) which successfully engages local businesses and commercial operators to develop new tourism products. The ‘Film Set’, was built by Paramount Pictures and Walt Disney Productions for the live-action musical feature film Popeye directed by Robert Altman and today is known as ‘Popeye Village’. The case of ‘Popeye Village’ demonstrates the challenges of sustaining a 33-year old screen tourism initiative and continuing to appeal to today’s visitors.
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Sandomierz and Father Matthew This case study presents a successful co-operation between the location’s authorities and the producers of the series. It illustrates the potential that can be leveraged by minimal financial input and which in this case resulted in a measurable increase of the city’s popularity. It also shows that strategies which prove to be successful should be developed further, demonstrated in this instance by the city’s strong image campaign being applied to the entire region.
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Ystad and Wallander This case study identifies a special symbiotic relationship between a location and a production. It is a unique example of how a public organisation (the Municipality) can act almost as a business unit, developing new tourism products and exploiting a screen production by using it to attract more tourists to create significant benefits to the local people and businesses.
Location
Júzcar, Spain
Anchor Bay, Malta
Population
243 (Instituto Nacional de Estadística, 2012)
416,1101 in 2011
Economic background
50% Agriculture - 30% Livestock - 20% Tourism (City Hall, 2013)
Number of employed people/sectors: Agriculture: 1.5%; Industry: 24.7%; Services: 73.9% (2011 est.) out of which 25% Tourism. Tourism generated 26.4% of GDP in 2012.1
Lead organization involved in the implementation of the case
Municipality of Juzcar
Anchor Bay Leisures Ltd.
Other partners
Bungalow 25
Mediterranean Film Facilities, Mediterranean Film Studios
Origin of the case
The Smurfs is a 2011 American 3D family comedy film loosely based on The Smurfs comic book series created by the Belgian comics artist Peyo and the 1980s animated TV series it spawned.
Popeye is a 1980 musical comedy live-action film adaptation directed by Robert Altman and adapted from E. C. Segar’s Thimble Theatre comic strip, also known as Popeye.
Production company(ies)
Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Kerner Entertainment Company
Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney Productions
Length of production/ case history
2 years, since 2011
33 years, since1980
Good practice features
Public-Private partnership, Destination development
Policy initiative (tax incentive), destination development, new tourism products
Tourist Profile
Mainly national tourists
Total number of tourists (including overnight cruise passengers) reached 1,454,400, recording an increase of 2.0% (2012) 47.1% of all tourists in 2012 hailed from the UK followed by 15.0% from Germany and 13.8% from France.
Economic impacts
Unemployment dropped from 12 people in 2011 to 0 in 2013.
3.5% of the tourists are screen tourists (2012)
Approximately 80,000 tourists six months after the repainting compared to 300 visitor per annum previously. In total 180,000 visitors since June 2011.
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Location
Sandomierz City, Poland
Ystad, Sweden
Population
25,152 in 2013
28,501 in 2012
Economic background
Number of people employed by sectors: Agriculture, forestry: 55%; Industry and construction: 17%; Trade, repair of motor vehicles, transportation and storage, accommodation and catering, information and communication: 8%; Financial and insurance activities, real estate activities: 2%; Other services: 18% 1-
Manufacturing industry 15%
Lead organization involved in the implementation of the case
Municipality of Sandomierz,
Municipality of Ystad /Film Strategist/Tourism Strategist/ Tourist Office/Cineteket (film museum)
Other partners
TNS Polska (media monitoring agency)
Oresund Film Commission/Tourism in Skåne/University of Lund
Origin of the case
Based on the Italian TV series Don Matteo written by Enrico Oldoini
Henning Mankell’s Kurt Wallander crime novels
Production company(ies)
Baltmedia Sp. z o.o for the Polish National Television
Swedish series: Svensk Filmindustri,Yellow Bird, ARD Degeto
Regional Touristic Organisation of Swietokrzyskie Voivodeship (ROT)
Tourism and culture: 8 % Building sector: 7 % Farming sector: 5 % Trading and communication: 20 %
UK series: Left Bank Pictures,Yellow Bird, TKBC Length of production/ case history
5 years. The first episode of TV series Father Matthew premiered in November 2008 and the 10th season is currently being broadcast.
8 years in total (production started in 2005)
Good practice features
Public–Public Partnership
Public–Private Partnership, Product development
Tourist Profile
Mainly national tourists
Mostly Swedish visitors, but also Danish, German, Polish, Dutch and British tourists. Mostly day visitors but also many weekend packages are sold by Ystad Saltsjöbad which is the largest hotel and spa in the region.
Sandomierz: 2008:235,963 tourists (number of entrances to the Sandomierz main tourist attractions)
Swedish production 14 January 2005 – present BBC production 30 November 2008 –present
2011:368,097 tourists (number of entrances to the Sandomierz main tourist attractions) 2003: 400,000 tourists visited Swietokrzyskie Region 2012: 4,091,000 tourists visited Swietokrzyskie Region2
Economic impacts
Polish Media Research Agency PRESS-SERVICE Monitoring Mediów conducted a study on the impact of TV-series for Polish cities. The best ranked was Sandomierz, shown in the TV series Father Matthew (Ojciec Mateusz). The name of the city was mentioned nearly 900 times in 2012, and the reach of these issues stood at 550 million people. The economic value for this media presence is estimated to be worth the equivalent of 10.8 million PLN (approx. €2.5 million).
Visitors per day:
After the first two seasons of broadcasting the series Father Matthew on Polish television, Sandomierz authorities estimated that the number of tourists had increased by 30%.
2012: 781 million SEK
2003: 902,029 day visitors 2012: 1,237,999 day visitors Overnight tourists: 2003: 781, 653 nights 2012: 943, 000 nights The turnover for tourism in Ystad Municipality: 2003: 437 million SEK Increase of 75 % Employees due to tourism: 2003: 388 people 2012: 590 people
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2. Júzcar: ‘Smurf Village’
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2.1 Location Background Hidden between rocky mountains, Júzcar was a typical Andalusian village with narrow streets, white houses, a small square and a church until one day the people of the village decided to be ‘blue’. Transforming into ‘Smurf Village’, Júzcar provides a unique case of the collateral impact of tourism and free media coverage.1 The economy of this town, like many others in the Serrania de Ronda, was based on natural products from the ground (mainly chesnuts and mushrooms) as well as typical gastronomy, handycrafts and all sorts of pork meat products. Júzcar is known for its own traditional cuisine based on mushroom recipes. Before the screen tourism effect produced by The Smurfs, the village was vaguely known for being a place linked to the mushroom culture. Annually Júzcar held the Mushroom Fair and the Mycological Journey which represent two of the most important events of the region.
2.2 Production Story 2.2.1 The Smurfs The story started when Bungalow 252, an international advertising agency, was contracted by Sony Pictures for the worldwide launching of the film The Smurfs . The process was very similar to that of finding a location for a film production. The agency got in touch with the Mayor of the town, David Fernández, in order to make an unusual offer associated with the promotion of the film in the run up to its world premiere3. It is important to note that Júzcar, as a location, did not appear in the film and that production of The Smurfs took place thousands of miles away in New York, a city generated by CGI.4 The process of getting candidates for this promotion was not easy. The concept developed by Bungalow25 for Sony Pictures was a competition in which the selected village would be painted completely in blue. Three villages were preselected from across Spain, all of them with similar characteristics, but the enthusiastic reaction and support of the Mayor of the city, David Fernández, made Júzcar stand out. Javier Cavanillas, CEO of Bungalow 25 said: ‘...the authenticity of Júzcar was fundamental for the final decision. Especially its identity as a community because it matched perfectly with the requirements of the Smurfs’ way of life that we all see on the screen. In essence Júzcar was real and authentic with the branding ‘Smurfs’.5 2.2.2 The Birth of Smurf Village To paint all of the 175 buildings of Júzcar, 4,000 litres of paint were used. Special permission from the regional government and the local bishop was required, as even the church and the gravestones were painted blue. In December 2011, Sony offered to repaint the town white. Citizens voted to leave the buildings painted blue, as an estimated 80,000 tourists visited in the six months following the repainting. The town had previously seen 300 tourists per year. The City Council decided that they could not let this lucky streak pass by. The Municipality led by the advertisement agency worked to make the world wide release an enormous success. Entrepreneurs and citizens gathered with the determination to organize a task force for the development of business and infrastructure required to address and mitigate the needs of the tourists. . 2.2.3
Future Plans and Challenges
The collaboration between the agency and the Municipality of Júzcar was such a good experience that years later the village was called on again by Bungalow 25 and on 23 July 2013 they hosted the worldwide release of Smurfs 2. Júzcar once more reached levels of popularity that they never could have imagined. What will happen in the future? Júzcar is working on how to maximize the opportunities but the lack of budget is one of their weakest points. Currently the village and the business association work together in developing a full program of activities for weekends and holidays all year round. About the ‘future blue’6 of Júzcar, David Fernandez says it could not be better. [The people of Júzcar are] a people with higher expectations in business and employment, which is most important in these times. Júzcar wants to continue promoting the people through the development of activities that add value to its natural resources as well as encourage and promote local tourist services to improve them and further meet the needs of visitors.’
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Sony Pictures:The Smurf Village - https://vimeo.com/40143324 Bungalow25 - http://www.bungalow25.com/ The Smurfs were created as a comic strips by a Belgian cartoonist, Pierre Culliford, in 1958. Computer Generated Images Paulino Cuevas interview David Fernández, Major of Júzcar. Andres Iniesta, international player F. C. Barcelona visited Juzcar to participate in the promotion of The Smurfs 2
2.3 Socio-Economic Impacts After the promotion and subsequent release of the film, between 1,000 and 3,000 people began arriving each day. More than 80,000 tourists visited Júzcar during the coming months and the City Council had to hire three additional police officers in order to enhance security and traffic control. During this explosion of tourism it became evident that there was a lack of infrastructures such as roads, signage and parking, coupled with a lack of restaurants, hotels and ‘simple’ activities. In the words of the Mayor: ‘we were not prepared for so much success.’7 2.3.1
New Tourism Products
The City Hall thought that somehow linking the image of Júzcar with other products could help to retain tourists in their village. The Mercapitufo (street market) held each weekend and on holidays, has up to 20 stalls selling Smurf-related artefacts, souvenirs, and culinary delicacies. There is an open air painting competition ‘Paint my people’, a Mycological exposition, the Anniversary Smurf Village, and Blue Moon Festival which includes music and cultural events. With The Smurfs tornado different businesses were created including a Tea House (2 employees), the Gift Shop ‘Miracles’ (2 employees) and World Smurf (2 employees), Bar El casarón (3 employees), Clinical Júzcar (1 doctor), and Bar Moclón, with multi adventure activities (3 jobs on average). During the weekends Júzcar has activities that require more people to work in order to meet demand (4 or 5 on average). Some locals said: ‘...we had the same craftsmen and products of the same quality. The Júzcar dried chestnuts, honey, mushrooms... even Júzcar t-shirts. The sales were quite limited. After the premiere of the film we saw it coming and we began to add the word ‘Smurf’ after every single product. Thus chestnuts are called ‘Chestnuts from Júzcar the Smurf Village’ or ‘Honey from Júzcar Smurf Village’. Now, every weekend, these products are all snapped up.’ 2.3.2 Long Term Effects on Tourism Since Júzcar was recognized as the First World Smurf Village, on June 16, 2011, they had received almost 180,000 visitors as a direct result of screen tourism. According to the mayor, Júzcar now has an average of 2,000 visitors every weekend, about ten times its own population. Another result of the screen tourism effect was the creation of the first business association to integrate many of Júzcar’s inhabitants. The influx of tourists associated with the film breathed an entrepreneurial spirit into the inhabitants of Júzcar. As a result new businesses started to open: a sandwich shop, a gift shop, a public pool, craft shops, tea rooms, bars, restaurants and a private clinic. Even the usual hotel, the Hotel Bandolero, rebranded its restaurant to become ‘The Smurfs Hotel’, now full every weekend with customers having to wait for a table. The existing businesses, and the newly created, adapt their marketing to what is assumed in the collective imagination to be related to the world of the Smurfs. The city is transformed, with their traditional products and services tailored to meet the diverse demands of the tourist. ‘All the products determined to take the word ‘Smurf’ seemed sold as if by magic’ recalls David Fernandez. The City Council has been pushing a plan to encourage the opening of empty houses in order to expand the number of beds available in the village, thus increasing and improving its tourist capacity. It also plans, supports and promotes various activities that stimulate entrepreneurship in the area. These projects include the pending plan for an Interpretation Centre of Mushrooms that David Fernández considers the flagship project of the presiding corporation. From an economic point of view the main effects on Júzcar, besides the brand impact, was the volume of positive media coverage. Without investing any money on advertising, the promotion of The Smurfs meant that Júzcar not only welcomed huge numbers of new tourists visiting the place, but also more than a hundred journalists. About sixty media companies around the world brought free media coverage estimated at a value of €6 million in Spain alone and €19 million all around the world.8 In terms of employment generated in this population of 250 inhabitants, it should be stressed that this is the only town in Andalusia where there is no unemployment. The twelve unemployed people at that time found jobs. The only hotel in the village, Hotel Bandolero, which previously ran with minimum staff, had a staff of six to carry out its operation. Also the Bar Torricheli, in which two staff were previously employed increased its workforce to six during the weekends.
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Paulino Cuevas interview David Fernández, Mayor of Júzcar.
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All of these activities have begun to bear fruit and visits received since the village was painted blue stands at over 180,000 and are still growing.
2.4 Conclusions ‘Smurf Village’ is a good example of creative marketing activities emerging from partnerships between private and public partners. The painting blue of the houses in the village of Júzcar for the promotion of The Smurfs was triggered by an advertising agency and accepted by the village mayor. It is also a good example of how a production (which has not even been shot in a location) can create job and business opportunities immediately.
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3. Malta: ‘Popeye Village’
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3.1 Location Background Malta is a Southern European country in the Mediterranean Sea with just over 316 km2, making it one of the world’s smallest and most densely populated countries. The capital of Malta is Valletta which is also the smallest capital in the EU at 0.8 km2. Malta’s location has given it great strategic importance throughout history and a succession of powers including the Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Aragonese, Habsburg Spain, Knights of St John, French and the British ruled the islands. Malta gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1964 and became a republic in 1974. Malta was admitted to the United Nations in 1964 and to the European Union in 2004; in 2008, it became part of the Eurozone. Malta is a favoured tourist destination with its warm climate, numerous recreational areas, architectural and historical monuments, including three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, most prominently the Megalithic Temples which are some of the oldest free-standing structures in the world. Besides that, Malta´s strengths are related to tourism. 2012 was a record year for inbound tourism with over 1.4 million tourists. The total number of tourists (including overnight cruise passengers) reached 1,454,400, recording an increase of 2.0% or 28,990 more tourists, when compared to the year 2011. 47.1% of all tourists in 2012 hailed from the UK followed by 15.0% from Germany and 13.8% from France. 52.3% of all respondents bought a package trip while 37.3% of all respondents made booking arrangements independently, with the rest using a mixture of both.9 Film production is a growing contributor to the Maltese economy. Despite its size, Malta continues to attract international film productions from around the world and this is the best sign of confidence that a small country can get from foreign producers. For over 88 years the Maltese islands have hosted some of the most renowned film-makers in the world. Since 1925 when the first film was shot there (Sons of the Sea), Malta has welcomed over 100 feature films. Malta has captured the imagination of some of the world’s top producers portraying it as a double for a myriad of locations and spanning from the modern times to ancient civilisations of Greece, Rome and Egypt to the 1960s. The financial incentives introduced by the Maltese government in 2005 help to draw significant traffic despite stiff competition. The current financial incentive offered to foreign productions is 20% with an additional 2% if Malta is portrayed as Malta; meaning a production can get up to 22% back on their eligible spending incurred in Malta. Furthermore all Value Added Tax paid in Malta is refundable and the Malta Tourism Authority has a scheme whereby productions featuring Malta as Malta can be financially supported as well.
3.2 Production Story 3.2.1 Popeye In 1979, a year before the production started, the director Robert Altman and the production designer Wolf Kroeger went on a trip around United States and Canada on a mission to find the right location for Popeye’s Sweethaven. After exploring remote fishing villages they finally chose Malta. At that time various factors helped in securing this production: 1. The weather. Conditions are always important but in this case were even more so since Robin Williams, starring as Popeye, was only available to shoot the film in January. 2. The professionals. A productive labour force including builders, artisans and craftmen with a lot of experience in film production. 3. The Goverment. Willing to allow major structural changes in the chosen natural bay known as Anchor Bay. During the summer of 1979 access roads were built, together with a 200ft-plus protective breakwater to protect the precious set from the sea and a scale model of a typical 1920s, North East America, Cape Cod fishing village. The construction of the film set started in June 1979 at Anchor Bay. In order to get permission to build the set, the producers made a huge investment that involved a construction crew of 165 working over seven months in order to build the village, consisting of 19 authentic wooden buildings and the 200ft-plus breakwater built to protect the set from the sea. Hundreds of logs and several thousand wooden planks were imported from the Netherlands, while wood shingles used in the construction of the roof tops were imported from Canada. Eight tons of nails and two thousand gallons of paint were also used in construction. Popeye, would eventually prove to be a sensible investment. It cost $20 million to make but it brought in $50 million in the US alone and another $10 million in other parts of the world. 9
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‘Market Profile Analysis - Year 2012’, Malta Tourism Authority.
3.2.2 The Birth of ‘Popeye Village’ Eight months after the film was released in the US, the local film studio - the Malta Film Facilities - took responsibility to manage the site after initial resistance from civil servants who could not understand why government should get involved in creating tourist attractions. The Malta Film Facilities managed the site profitably for 6 years but without making any significant investment for development or even maintenance. The former film-crew canteen was opened as a simple coffee shop for beer and sandwiches and women dressed like Olive Oyl were trained to conduct tours around the film set. In 1987, the Malta Film Facilities, became the Mediterranean Film Studios and the management of ‘Popeye Village’ was entrusted to a newly formed entity named Anchor Bay Leisures Ltd. In November 1989, Anchor Bay Leisures Ltd, was privatised and the current directors of ‘Popeye Village’, the Bonnici family, bought its shares in 1990. The bidders were asked for a high annual rent and a commitment to invest in further development of the site as a theme park. The new private enterprise recognised the potential and the need of a family tourist attraction, especially for off-season months when families with children could not spend days on the beach. ‘Popeye Village’ provided a theme park based on children’s entertainment characters, where families could spend a whole day in winter months. Anchor Bay Leisures Ltd invested in children’s joy-ride equipment, an undercover games area and developed a much bigger catering area. The fun park attracted both local business and the tourist sector. In 2001, Santa’s Toy Town came to life. This was located in the Oyls’ house which had been rebuilt and transformed into the newer section of Santa’s Toy Town, forming part of the magical world where all year round the elves are making toys for the children to be distributed at Christmas time. Originally, only the “Roughouse” and Olive Oyl’s family house at opposite ends of the village had an interior. The other houses had just an exterior shell, and were refurbished to house glass-blowers, silver-smiths, winetasting and life-sized models, among other attractions. The back ends of the post-office, the baker and the shoe-maker now host a number of brightly coloured mechanical elves, home-made to specification on location, from the good and bad children’s letters-sorting section, wood-workshop, paint section and soft-toy section to quality control. In 2008, the investors realised the possibility of exploiting a sandy beach that had formed after some storms, behind the breakwater and on the original beach. This sunbed area became very popular in summer and the management invested in a large sundeck for visitors spending whole days in summer, tanning near the beach after paying the entrance ticket to get into ‘Popeye Village’. 3.2.2 The Birth of ‘Popeye Village’ ‘Popeye Village’ occupies the shores of Mellieha in the northwest corner of the island of Malta. The philiosophy of the past was to use ‘Popeye Village’ as a theme park. Today this approach has been discarded in favour of one more focused at promoting the film set for what it is: the film set of Popeye (1980). The ‘Village’ is not marketed as a Theme Park because people were going there with certain expectations and ending up disappointed. Recent developments have rendered the children’s playground area unsustainable and it is slowly being shut down. The ’Popeye Village’ directors point to the fact that over the past few years the Maltese Government has opened a number of appealing and modern children’s parks with which the Film Set complex cannot compete. On the other hand, seasonal attractions like ‘Santa’s Toy Town’, the seaside attractions and other themed attractions serve to win repeat business. The effort to continually offer something new and innovative is clearly visible in the various promotional campaigns of the past few years. Although no statistics have been collected, repeat business is commonplace both among locals as well as tourists, some of whom know the ‘Popeye Village’’s staff by name. Film-related attractions may also develop, with the setting up of a film museum having been proposedas a possible project to be housed in one of the many buildings in the village. It seems that ‘Popeye Village’ came to existence 33 years ago and is organically developing according to the demand of the tourism market.
3.3 Socio-Economic Impacts As a direct impact of the project, Anchor Bay Leisures Ltd, employs five full-time maintenance staff and five full-time animators. After management of ‘Popeye Village’ was entrusted to Anchor Bay Leisures Ltd the
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company quickly started to develop and deliver different kind of services and products. With Popeye being an international comic icon, there is no shortage of merchandise. One of the houses in the ‘Popeye Village’ set houses a very well-equipped souvenir shop stocked with a very wide variety of Popeye themed items. The directors believe that Popeye soft toys and t-shirts are among the most popular souvenirs bought from their souvenir shop. A small selection of merchandise is also manufactured in Malta. These include wall hanging ceramic plates, models of the village, pottery items and postcards. Since the filming of Popeye in 1980, the film set has been re-utilised in a number of other productions including: Piet Piraat en het Zeemonster (feature film, 2013), I Yam what I Yam...., L’invenzione (short film, 2012), Sinterklaas & Pakjesboot 13 (children’s film, 2006), Burning Shore (TV film, 1991), Iron Warrior (feature film, 1987) and Puzzled Steele (TV episode from the Remington Steele series, 1984). ’Popeye Village’ occupies 20,000 square meters divided in two main areas. An entrance fee allows entry to visit the film-set including two restaurants as well as access to the beach amenities in the summer months. The upper complex comprises another restaurant and a three-storey high kids’ jump around, open to the public who might not wish to see the set and very popular with Maltese return customers. During regular opening hours, animators dressed up as Popeye, Olive Oyl and Bluto are seen bringing the village to life. 3.3.1
New Tourism Products
As a catalogue of ideas aim to attract tourists, over the past years the ‘Popeye Village’ management have successfully managed different activities and attractions: •
Popeye Comic Museum. Guests can read through digitized Popeye Comics digitally, watch the full movie that was shot here and also view several old memorabilia that were collected throughout the years. • Cinema (15 minutes history of Film Set). • Boat trip (15 minutes around anchor Bay, weather permitting). • Silver Smith Demonstration. Use of nine hole mini golf course. • Live Animation Shows and activities. • The “Take 2 Filming” activity: this involves visitors to the village as they become the ‘stars’ of their own movie and is probably the most popular attraction. From plotting the scenes, to rehearsals, to costumepicking and the actual filming, groups of visitors enjoy themselves as they get a taste of being in front of a film camera. The activity ends with a visit to the village cinema where the movie is screened. Copies of the film can also be purchased after watching a preview. • Puppet shows and a variety of activities for the little ones including face painting and balloon modelling. • Dancing and games for all the family including bingo, water bombs and treasure hunts. Attractions for different Seasons: • Summer activities: use of Anchor Bay Lido including sun beds and umbrellas; use of water games, slide, trampolines; Zumba; Beach DJ; splash pool for adults; and a covered play pool for children at the upper deck. • Easter activities: Easter egg hunt; Easter egg tree; egg decorations; and Easter bunny dances. • Halloween: haunted nights; pumpkin hunt; and Halloween dances. • Carnival: mask colouring; traditional carnival activities from around the world; costume competitions; and carnival dancing • Christmas: the Amazing Santa’s Toy Town; the Maltese crib; Meet Santa Claus; Meet Popeye’s mascot friends; and Christmas games and activities Besides the regular operation of the Film set, the complex also serves as a venue for a wide variety of special functions which range from wedding celebrations to disco parties and photo shoots. Diversification is probably the key as the film set is used as a backdrop to a variety of events which have proved to be very popular among locals and tourists alike. 3.3.2
Long Term Effects on Tourism
The geographical situation of ‘Popeye Village’, in the North Western area of Malta, and off the main roads, means that passing trade is nonexistent. The Village is more popular with independent tourists as opposed to organised tours. The management of ‘Popeye Village’ does cooperate with the main tour operators on the island.
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With a vast majority of visitors being independent tourists, the preferred mode of advertising is the distribution of promotional fliers in tourist-frequented areas. There is also an online presence thorough a website and a Facebook page, which is constantly maintained and updated. Importance is also given to travel websites such as TripAdvisor. The overall effect of ‘Popeye Village’ on tourism has been positive so far. In 2001, it was estimated that 100,000 visitors visited ‘Popeye Village’. 3.5% of the tourists who visited Malta in 2012 reported that one of the factors which influenced their decision was seeing Malta featured on TV.
3.4 Conclusions •
Malta’s film policy represents a good practice example of a strategic policy initiative with regards to incentives for productions. According to the policy those films portraying Malta as Malta receive higher funding as well as additional assistance in comparison to those which only use it as a substitute location. It is a pro-active strategic policy which can create long-term and higher destination awareness amongst potential tourists of Malta as a place to visit. Therefore a policy can have an effect on a destinations’ overall image.
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The ‘Popeye Village’ film set also represents a good practice in terms of engaging SMEs, commercial operators and tourism companies. The management of the film set could potentially involve other partners to create new tourism products and operate the film set as a fun park.
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This is also an interesting case as it shows the longevity of screen tourism and demonstrates that the authenticity of the locations is not always the most important aspect.
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Privatisation and the engagement of a business oriented organisation helped to renew the different ideas along the history of the film set. The creative business approach helped to turn a weakness (lack of money to turn ‘Popeye Village’ into an amazing theme park) into a strong comcept, to market ‘Popeye Village’ simply as the film set of Popeye.
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4. Sandomierz: Father Matthew 25
4.1 Location Background Sandomierz is one of the oldest cities in Poland. It is located in the South-Eastern part of the country and known for its cultural heritage and historic centre. The city belongs to the Swietokrzyskie Region (with capital in Kielce). Located on the Vistula River (Wisla), on the edge of Sandomierz Upland, on seven hills intersected by ravines and surrounded by forests, Sandomierz is known for its Old Town, which is a major tourist attraction. The Old Town can be perceived as an open-air museum of architectural history, where more than 120 monuments of all styles and ages are located. The main tourist attractions are: Underground Tourist Route under the Old Town; Gothic Opatowska Gate; Regional Museum located in the medieval castle; Diocesan Museum – Długosz House; and numerous historic churches. The urban, planning and architectural landscape of Sandomierz is a lasting legacy for both national and European culture. The city’s industrial background is dominated by the production of glass and the agro-food industry. There are examples of foreign direct investment into local industry: Pilkington Poland and Pilkington Automotive (which belongs to Japanese Nippon Sheet Glass Corporation) and Dossche Poland (fodder factory with Belgian capital). Sandomierz also has several partnership agreements with other European cities, such as Emmendingen in Germany, Newark-on-Trent in the UK, Ukrainian Ostrog and Italian Volterra. In September 2013 the unemployment rate in the Sandomierskie County was 12.8%, which ranked the city in 5th place among the 13 counties with the lowest unemployment rate in the whole Swietokrzyskie Region.10
4.2 Production Story 4.2.1 The Production Background
Father Matthew11 is a TV series of great success in Poland and is based on the Italian television series Don Matteo. The series chronicles the adventures of a detective priest, wearing a cassock and travelling by bicycle. While all sorts of mysteries are solved in every chapter the viewer is exposed to the attractions of the destination in a natural and very effective way in terms of promoting Sandomierz. Like the original Italian series12, the action takes place in a medieval city full of great attractions including historic churches, colourful houses, underground labyrinths and dungeons. It has the perfect setting and atmosphere for cases of mystery to be solved. Production of the Polish version of the series began in the summer of 2008. The film crew has completed ten seasons of the series, totalling 121 episodes. The first episode of the first season was broadcast on November 11, 2008 and location shooting for the ninth season took place in Sandomierz from December 2012 until the end of April 2013. The ninth season was on air from 28 February to 23 May 2013 and the tenth season premiered on Polish television in September 2013. 4.2.2 Father Matthew in Sandomierz The series is produced by Baltmedia Sp. z o.o for the Polish National Television. The producers travelled throughout Poland to find a suitable location and Sandomierz appeared to be the perfect place for the purpose of the series with its many unique monuments and places of natural beauty tipping the balance. The producers also took into account the characteristics of the Italian town from the original version when they decided to choose Sandomierz as a main location for the series.13 An important factor in the selection of Sandomierz was the openness of the city authorities to cooperate and their willingness to provide assistance during the production of the series. From the very beginning the city authorities were involved in a number of works related to the show, from assisting in location scouting in pre-production to logistics and helping in adjusting the city for shooting purposes. Sandomierz Municipality did not sign a contract with producers to determine the form and scope of the presentation of the city in the series, though consultants involved on the city’s side did suggest interesting locations for filming. Additionally, although the city was not a co-producer of the series the Municipality of Sandomierz did financially support the production by sponsoring a helicopter flight and taking bird’s eye view pictures of Sandomierz for filming purposes. The captured images were used to create a variety of promotional materials of Sandomierz as well. In addition, the city supported the producers of Father Matthew by covering part of the cost of cast and crew accommodation. The average annual amount of financial support was approximately €6,000 (25 thousand PLN)14 . In exchange, Sandomierz authorities were allowed to use the name of the TV series in the promotion of the city. Sandomierz is presented in the series as a friendly and welcoming city. This fact is enhanced visually in the 10
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Central Statistical Office report for 2013. http://www.stat.gov.pl/gus/5840_1487_ENG_HTML.htm 11 In Polish: ‘Ojciec Mateusz’ 12 The events take place in Umbria Gubbio, a medieval Italian city full of handicrafts, picturesque buildings and great gastronomic traditions. Known as the origin of the legend of St. Francis and the Wolf. 14 Data provided by the Municipality of Sandomierz..
series through Father Matthew’s personality.15 One of the great successes of this particular detective, and of great benefit to the promotion of the city, is the fact that the main character has no car. Thus, his cycling adventures serve the purpose of taking the viewer through the city. The slow beat of Sandomierz is perceived by the public almost excitedly as the as the camera and the bike work together, to promote the city as a leisure destination as well as the centre of thrilling scenes. The cooperation between the producers and the Municipality of Sandomierz from the very beginning of the pre-production phase was a win-win situation. From a marketing point of view the concept of ‘City Placement’, defined as ‘… placement of cities or tourist sites in the movies’ is clearly evident. Father Matthew is a perfect example of this as it relates to the establishment of a close relationship between the City (product) and the production company (industry) in which the first one offers facilities and the second gives promotion and add value to the City. The success of the series, beyond the screen quota obtained, has been multi-faceted. The eighth season of Father Matthew attracted over five million viewers, reaching a share of almost 34.5%. The series is one of the biggest blockbusters of Polish Television and at a tourist level, the choice of Sandomierz as the location for Father Matthew was a huge success. After the first two seasons of Father Matthew were broadcast on Polish television, Sandomierz authorities estimated the number of tourists had increased by 30%. Currently over 30% of Polish respondents instantly associate Świętokrzyskie region with the series. Various promotional projects, activities, actions and campaigns undertaken over the years brought the expected positive effects, but the first emission of Father Matthew in November 2008 started a real “flow” of tourists to Sandomierz .
4.3 Socio-Economic Impacts The polish research agency PRESS-SERVICE Monitoring Mediów analysed the results of the presence of 11 names of cities in the context of 12 selected Polish TV-series’ titles. The highest ranking in terms of number of issues and contact information was ‘Sandomierz, as shown in Father Matthew’. The name of the city was mentioned nearly 900 times in 2012, and the reach of these publications stood at 550 million people .16 Based on the number of tickets sold to major tourist attractions (Opatowska Gate and the Underground Tourist Route), we can say with certainty that the number of tourists who come to Sandomierz is steadily growing (except for the year 2010, when the flood took place in the region). In 2011 the Underground Tourist Route was visited by 138,000 tourists and Opatowska Gate by 127,000. By comparison, in 2008, when the airing of the series on television began, data on the number of tourists were as follows: the Underground Tourist Route had 80,000 visitors and Opatowska Gate had 67000 visitors. 17 To continue increasing the positive influence of Father Matthew, municipal authorities prepared a large number of products connected with the characters and series’ plots: •
An open air photographic exhibition about Father Matthew taken from the different sets and landscapes. This exhibition was held during the 6th Festival of Extraordinary Movies in 2009.
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‘See Sandomierz with the eyes of Father Matthew’ is a tourist guide through the city of Father Matthew. The following year the tourist office of Sandomierz released its first brochure presenting this tourist route. The brochure included a map of ‘Father Matthew’s Trail’, a unique touristic route which was created by municipal government. Additionally, merchandise including calendars, postcards, cups and board games were produced, showing the scenery and the natural environment of Father Matthew’s city. The Tourist Information Centre also sells a DVD containing complete seasons of the TV series.
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Sandomierz designed a guided tour: “In the footprints of Father Matthew”. It is important to mention that along with Krakow´s Schindler’s List tour, Sandomierz is unique in the tourism segment of displays offered in Poland.
Despite not having created a long term promotion strategy the TV series, now in its 10th season, continues to attract successful activities and tourists. Given the examples of successful activities and the fact that the 10th season of the TV series is now on air, at any point was there created a long term promotion strategy basing on Sandomierz authorities’ relationship with series producers. What is remarkable in this case is that the success of Father Matthew and its influence on audience perception of Sandomierz was picked up and used on such a broad scale: to re-create the image of the whole region of Swietokrzyskie and its capital – Kielce. The first two seasons of the series were filmed in Sandomierz and other areas of the outskirts. During the third, fourth and fifth season the work of the Regional Touristic Organisation of Swietokrzyskie Region (ROT) 15 16 17
Father Matthew is played by a renowned actor Artur Żmijewski. Source of the study: PRESS-SERVICE Monitoring Mediów. Published on: March 11, 2013 Data provided by the Municipality of Sandomierz.
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decided to apply the same formula to another city. Thus, Father Matthew had a considerably wide range of influence and spread to other villages of Swietokrzyskie and especially to the city of Kielce. Based on results of a survey carried out in 2009 (ordered by ROT), Kielce did not have a positive image in the country and was perceived as a place having little to offer to tourists. ROT’s strategy aimed at improving the city’s image. To achieve this, ROT resorted to local legends that spoke of Swietokrzyska Witches and the mountains near the city where several covens supposedly took place during the Middle Ages. Under the slogan ‘Swietokrzyskie bewitches - fly for a weekend’ the region decided to align on the side of the mystery, as Sandomierz had done, in order to differentiate their destination. The campaign included a package of actions. Being aware of the popularity of the series, ROT decided to co-produce the series through an EU funding program. The starting point of this unusual promotional campaign was promoting Krzyztopor, a ruined castle in Ujazd from the seventeenth century. A Film-Promotion Swietokrzyski Fund was created for the needs of the project. This financially innovative and creative marketing campaign led to the production of 20 episodes in the region of Świętokrzyskie. The locations or destinations were naturally integrated into the plot and the most important places in the city appeared during the opening credits with the name of the city and the region Świętokrzyskie also mentioned in those episodes. In front of each of these episodes an ad spot sponsored by Świętokrzyskie ran for eight seconds. The opening credits of each episode included the logos of the association with ROT and the subsidizing by the European Regional Development Fund for the development of Swietokrzyskie Region. Kielce as a destination appeared in four episodes which indirectly promoted different places. Father Matthew returned to Sandomierz, visited Krzyztopor ruined castle and the Biskupin Palace (National Museum) and in other episodes visited the cities of Opatow and Busko Zdroj, even filming an episode where the main character visits a porcelain factory during an investigation in Cmielow. As an effect, the series audience started to associate the whole Swietokrzyskie Region with Father Matthew, not only the orginal location of Sandomierz city.
4.4 Conclusions •
The success of the image campaign of the Świętokrzyskie region was confirmed by the agency TNS Polska (former name: Pentor) which carried out research twice, in 2009 and 2011. It was commissioned by the Regional Tourism Organization of Swietokrzyskie Region. Results had to show the effectiveness of promotional campaigns and quantitative research was conducted on a representative group of 1,021 inhabitants of Warsaw, Katowice and Lublin (Polish cities).
•
In 2009, when the first promotional campaign started, only 3% of respondents indicated that they would ‘definitely’ choose a trip to Swietokrzyskie, and in 2011 this increased to 10%. Responses ‘rather yes’ increased from 16% to 22% and there was a decrease from 30% to 18% of strongly negative responses regarding coming to the region. Architectural monuments, hiking, rural tourism and family tourism attracted most tourists. More and more people associated the province as the filming location of Father Matthew. The most recognizable places were Sandomierz, Pacanow and Busko-Zdroj. TV series Father Matthew and the promotional campaign made Sandomierz a magnet for tourists . 18
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Respondents acknowledged the positive impression that the series had made on the cities as well as considering the inclusion of these locations in the episodes as the best way to promote tourism in addition to the information provided at the beginning of each episode. Even the latest report of The European Place Marketing Institute confirmed the effectiveness of promotional activities. In a ranking of cities and regions Swietokrzyskie ranked second (equal with Silesia) in terms of tourism promotion and the campaign ‘Swietokrzyskie czaruje’ (‘Charming Swietokrzyskie’) ranked third place.
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This case study demonstrates the very successful co-operation between the producers and local authorities and is an excellent example of “public co-production” between the producers of the show and the city of Sandomierz. With a minimal financial support to meet the team’s pre-production accommodation costs, Sandomierz guaranteed itself a role and secured the legitimate rights for promoting the city through the series.
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The initiative undertaken by the city of Sandomierz through Father Matthew became so successful that it was possible for the entire region of Świętokrzyskie to benefit through further episodes. As a result the entire region is now associated with the production and known as the land of Father Matthew.
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‘When a city takes title role’ report by PRESS-SERVICE Monitoring Mediów. Published on: March 11, 2013
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5. Municipality of Ystad, The ‘Wallander Effect’ 31
5.1 Location Background Ystad is a small city situated on the south coast of Scania, or Skåne, part of southern Sweden. It has beaches west and east of the town, and a harbour where ship, train and bus connections meet. The new marina is a base for exploring the area, as well as Skåne. The area was first settled in the 12th century, and the town has an attractive medieval centre. Its coastal position, facing Germany across the Baltic, means that it was closely associated with the Hanseatic League, which it joined in the 14th century. It has a medieval church and many half-timbered houses and pedestrian streets. Ystad is a popular tourist destination because of its natural environment. It has a port, wide beaches and strategic military situation, and has always been a popular destination for Swedish tourists. Ystad hosts a number of festivals and has an art museum, plus a number of other museums and attractions. It is known internationally as the setting for many of the novels of Henning Mankell, featuring fictional Ystad police inspector Kurt Wallander. Ystad and the Skane region has a well-developed film industry. Ystad Studios together with Film i Skåne and Öresund Film Commission are part of a regional commitment to develop and stimulate film production and the audio-visual industry in Skåne. With a total production surface of 3,500 square metres Ystad Studios is a hub for film related services in southern Sweden. In addition to the Wallander films, Ystad and Österlen have also provided locations for Oscar-nominated Mother of Mine, Jan Troell’s Everlasting Moments, Sweden’s first vampire film Frostbitten, a feature film by Swedish TV comedians the Hipp-hipp Gang Morgan Pålsson and Danish films With Your Permission and What No One Knows. The children’s TV advent calendar for 2008 was filmed here, as well as Hepp Film productions A Rational Solution and Beyond and just recently the critically acclaimed TV series The Bridge was filmed from December 2012 until May 2013 at Ystad Studios.
5.2 Production Story 5.2.1 The Wallander Story and the Movies In 1991, Henning Mankell, author of Swedish mystery novels, published the first of a series of books featuring Kurt Wallander19, a police inspector who lives and works in Ystad. Mankell’s novels, translated into thirty-seven languages, see Inspector Wallander solve, along with his colleagues, a series of crimes with which the author entertains the reader as well as encouraging reflection on certain aspects of Swedish society. The novel was first adapted into two seasons of the Swedish series starring Krister Henriksson20 which was filmed between 2005 to 2006 in 13 episodes. It was later produced by the BBC as a British version with Kenneth Branagh in the role of Wallander. Branagh described Wallander as: ‘A existentialist questioning what is life and why he does what he does every day, a person whose acts of violence are never normal. There is a level of empathy with the victims of crime that is almost impossible to contain, and one of the prices you pay for that kind of empathy is a personal life close to disaster’21. 5.2.2 The Wallander Effect After the television premiere of the British version, the character of Inspector Kurt Wallander was elevated to the status of Swedish pop culture icon, having a major effect on Ystad. Wallander gradually became a symbol of the city and, as a result of the proactive attitude of the Municipality of Ystad, a real phenomenon of unprecedented tourism in Northern Europe. The ‘Wallander Effect’, as it is known today in Europe, attracts thousands of tourists eager to experience the daily routines of this particular detective in the city of Ystad. As in many other cases related to tourism, the origin of the ‘Wallander Effect’ was a combination of chance and opportunity being fully exploited, in this instance by Ystad. Both the public and private sector have seen Wallander as a huge opportunity to attract screen tourism while offering many facilities to all those who want to shoot there. The public-private approach was effective because as soon as the opportunity presented itselfthe Municipality of Ystad team took full advantage of it, acting fast to create a minimal infrastructure in a very short space of time. Through this they were able to leverage future benefits that filming of the series could bring to the city and especially those which the tourist impulse would follow.
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19 Experience Films - In Real Life.How can films benefit the tourist industry? Case Wallander 20 The personality o Wallander has been played by five different actors: Roff Lassgard, Lennart Jåhkel, Gustaf Skarsgård, Krister henriksson and Kenneth Branagh 21 BBC Magazine’s Radio Times
The fact that the main locations of the Wallander productions were in Ystad, boosted the interest by the city in attracting different types of tourists, shifting their focus away from their national traditional tourism. They have been developing activities that link film and tourism for several years. As a starting point, as a public organisation they ensured that public employees and citizens 22, as well as agents directly or indirectly involved in the tourism industry, understood the benefits of the Wallander productions.
Wallander is a registered trademark and as author Henning Mankell has always been reluctant to create products or souvenirs explicitly associating with Ystad23 the city has used the Wallander brand with considerable caution. Despite this and other limitations it is interesting to see how local authorities have managed to creatively overcome these barriers linked to the image rights of the series. At the public level, they work closely with the film commission and the local banking sector, as well as cooperating with VisitSweden and the regional Skåne Tourism Board. They have a noteworthy collaboration with the University of Lund24 where it is jointly developing a research program on audiovisual production at the regional level as well as creating a number of masters in film, media and music composition. At international level Ystad has designed a plan that carefully leverages the opportunity and good image generated by the Wallander series. Ystad understands that through the tourism sector they provide an ideal platform for economic development strategy. During the last 10 years the Municipality has reinvented and transformed the city. In Ystad, the tourism sector has reached maturity with screen tourists previously seen as a microsector becoming considered the engine of economic development in the region. 5.2.3 Future Plans and Challenges In the future, it is a challenge for the Municipality to manage the lack of a wider regional strategy. Currently the regional tourism board has shown interest in linking up with film and to learn about Ystad’s experience with Wallander, which could be seen as a step forward and a great opportunity. A further challenge for Ystad is the dependence on the Wallander series, and relating to this, problems of exploiting further film tourism products based on the series due to IP restrictions of using the name ‘Wallander’.
5.3 Socio-Economic Impacts 5.3.1
New Tourism Products
The Municipality of Ystad has always taken the lead in terms of a promotion strategy and therefore has an allocated marketing budget to carry out various initiatives which include: •
The Annual International Conference Mixed Reality Scandinavia25 – Since 2009, The Municipality organises a leading conference on fiction tourism and destination development, where international experts share ideas with an emphasis on how to develop screen tourism.
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A product entitled ‘In the footsteps of Wallander’ which brings together a number of tools with which to walk in the shoes of Wallander. Maps, a website, printed guides, guided tours as well as an application for iPhone26 allows visitors to follow in the footsteps of inspector Kurt Wallander in the city. The geolocation system allows visitors to access a lot of information and the ability to walk to the locations that appear on the screen of their device. •
Ystad first started to produce maps focusing on the character Wallander in the beginning of the 1990s, based on the books. Initially it was not a strategic tool; it was created as a response to visitors going to the tourist office to ask for the locations in the books27. Later, locations from the films and TV series were also included. These maps showcase different places associated with the character and they have been very popular. They have been produced in different languages to target specific markets, for example the German market.
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Since 2009, the maps have been combined with a dedicated Wallander website28 . This site has been developed in collaboration with the author of the books, Henning Mankell.
22 Experience Films - In Real life. How can films benefit the tourist industry? Interview with Steffan Garnaeus 23 Experience Films - In Real Life. Case Wallander. Interview with Marie Holmström “Actually, I would love to market Wallander souvenirs from our tourist office. However, Henning Mankell doesn´t allow it” 24 Lund Univerity - http://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/ 25 Mixed Reality Scandinavia - http://www.mixedreality.info/ 26 iPhone App - http://www.wallander.ystad.se/en 27 Internal material submitted by the partner Ystad Municipality 28 http://www.wallander.ystad.se
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A mobile phone application is also linked to the site which is possible to download for free and provides similar content to the website. The application was downloaded 178 times between July and September 2012. The Municipality of Ystad has also produced another mobile app called ‘The Walk of Film’ highlighting different screen locations in Ystad: it was downloaded 886 times between July and September 201229.
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Since 1997, the town has guided tours with an old fire brigade that drives through the town to locations associated with Wallander. ‘The Wallander tours – The Old Fire Brigade’ offers a ride on an antique fire truck that will take visitors to places and scenes that appear in the series. Also, to relive the action live and direct you can do a ‘Location tours in the landscape’. In this guided tour, which complements the previous one, you can visit some of the places and landscapes that appear in the series. This tour has remained popular and in the summer of 2012, 737 people took part. The tour is revised when new episodes related to Wallander are broadcast. However, regular guided walking Wallander tours are also offered in several languages, plus free showings of films in the main square (Stortorget) as well as guided bus tours in the landscape that shows locations outside of the town.
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The Municipality has developed The Cineteket Film Museum30 based in a block of old barracks, converted into a studio for film and television. Visitors can learn and experience first-hand the techniques of making traditional film, digital and animation. As part of the interactive experience this space also offers a unique collection of clothing and objects from the many television series based on Wallander. It combines exhibitions, guided tours and different visitor activities. The museum also provides guided tours of the film studios in Ystad. It is an arena for those interested in film-making in general and particularly films made in Ystad. Between April and August 2012, 2,627 people took part in the guided tours which are getting more popular amongst international visitors to the town. This could be linked to the fact that the BBC produced English versions of Wallander, attracting a whole new group of audiences in a range of countries.
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The tourism industry and the hotel industry feature ‘The Wallander - Hotel packages’, a set of experiences where visitors can, for example, enjoy the services of Wallander’s favorite hotel, the Hotel Continental. Thus, the hotels, restaurants and other local establishments take advantage of the opportunity to sell products and services associated with the series. The Continental Hotel case is especially interesting because tourists often require the regular table seating of Inspector Wallander and the dishes he enjoys31. The director of the Hotel Continental in Ystad, Staffan Garnaeus, says: ‘Our strategy is to exploit the brand Wallander as long as we can.’32
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Merchandise products with the slogan ‘So this is where the killings took place’.
Aware of the importance of the screen tourism sector, the city of Ystad has decided to engage and capitalize on the concept of being Sweden’s ‘Movietown’, an inherent hallmark of the city. In this sense, Ystad, works with public and private sector to ensure that the association of Ystad with screen products is as productive as possible. This strategy leads them to work with the private sector, for examplewith film producers and distributors in order to attract productions, or with initiatives such as movie premieres that somehow help to lengthen the ‘ Wallander effect’. 5.3.2
Long Term Effects
5.3.2.1 Economic Impact The Municipality of Ystad has calculated that on the first Wallander series the investment was 13 million SEK (approx. €1.5 million) with a return to the region of 50 million SEK (approx. €5.8 million). Two Wallander productions with the BBC had an investment of 15 million SEK (approx. €1.7 million) with a return of a total of 46 million SEK (approx. €5.3 million). Finally Wallander 2 had an investment of 15 million SEK (approx. €1.7 million) and had a return to the whole region of 50 million SEK (approx. €5.8 million)33. Thus, the investment in film projects has also increased the average level of spending in the Ystad region. Employment is a figure that is emphasised when it comes to economic impact. In the case of Ystad, the second Wallander series created 298 new employment opportunities of which 193 came from the region. The BBC project provided 144 employment opportunities with almost half of them of a regional background. Local companies which have benefited from the film productions include car rentals, food stores, security and cleaning companies, hotels and restaurants. These were all direct economic impacts of the productions. The Wallander films are expected to have given Ystad and the region of Skåne in Sweden a placement value of
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Internal material submitted by the partner Ystad Municipality Cinetek Film Museum: http://www.ystad.se/ Experience Films - In Real Life. How can films benefit the tourist industry? Interview with Staffan Garnaeus Experience Films - In Real Life. How can films benefit the tourist industry? Interview with Staffan Garnaeus Rundqvist, Petra (2010) PPT Presentation
2.5 billion SEK (approx. €289 million)34. Another important benefit of screen tourism to the city has been its tremendous international promotion through Wallander. In Ystad a study was commissioned to analyse the media publicity where the town was mentioned in 2012. The analysis aimed to provide an overview of the image of how the town was portrayed and described in articles focusing on film, series and film production in editorial web media: this included both Swedish and English speaking articles. 290 articles were found, of which 50% were positive towards Ystad, 5% were negative and the rest had a balanced view. Many of the positive articles connected Ystad with tourism and film. The most featured topics concerned casts, the author of the Wallander novels, Henning Mankell, the film-friendliness, tourism and star of UK produced Wallander, Kennneth Branagh. The analysis of these articles shows that Ystad has managed to brand itself as a town associated with film and the related tourism. Furthermore, it also shows the impact that actors and film or TV personalities can have on destination branding. The report found that the articles had an estimated PR value of 96 million SEK (approx. €11.1 million)35. 5.3.2.2 Tourism Effects It is always difficult to determine the real motivation of a tourist visiting a city. All cities have multiple attractions and in this regard, there are many tourists for every destination. What is clear is that after the broadcast on BBC One in the first three episodes starring Kenneth Branagh in late 2008, British tourists began arriving in Ystad36 . The series has resulted in a new interest among British tourists to visit Sweden, and especially Ystad and the Skåne province. In the past British people were reluctant to visit Sweden since they saw the country as cold and expensive, but now questions are mostly about the light and the nature seen in the BBC series37. Statistics Sweden reports that Skåne is the only Swedish region that has seen an increase in hotel visits during the first quarter of 2009. The largest increase in non-Scandinavian tourists is seen among Britons, who now count for 12% which is almost as large as the percentage of visitors from Germany, at 13% . In 2009, Ystad saw an increase of tourists from the UK with 18%, and local politicians credit the BBC Wallander series with attracting British tourists38 . In 2008 tourism brought into Ystad 51 million SKE (c. £4.4 million)39. The productions, most likely, had an indirect impact on tourism too. The turnover in the tourism sector in Ystad went from 490 million SEK (approx. €56 million) in 2002 to 720 million SEK (approx. €82.9) in 2011. It cannot be assumed but it is highly likely that there is a correlation between the exposure of Ystad in various screen products during this period and the growth in tourism turnover of 60%. It shows in the growing number of employees in the tourism sector that the economic turnover has increased because it has gone from 388 full time employees to 560 in 201140. The number of full-time employees has increased by 45%. The statistics also show an influx of day visitors and hotel bookings over the same period. Thus, in addition to having a direct economic impact, film productions also have a wider and more indirect impact. Wallander, with the activities promoted by the Municipality of Ystad, has had a significant impact on tourism development. Between 2004 (the year the British series began production) and 2012, tourism increased by 75%. Similarly, the creation of new jobs experienced a rise of 45%41. In recognition of this work Ystad was awarded the 2009 Stora Turismpriset (The Great Tourism Award). ‘The brand of Ystad as a film and tourism town has been strengthened due to consequent and longsighted film investments’ said Pia Jönsson- Rajgård, President of Tourism in Skåne.
5.4 Conclusions •
The Wallander case is an example of good practice through strategic public-public partnership. The Wallander App is a common development of a business company and the public organisation.
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It is also a good practice in developing a destination (destination awareness, influencing a brand, and product development).
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Among the tourist attractions developed by the Muncipality of Ystad, the city offers a wide range of possibilities that can inspire other regions in replicating the experience in other destinations.
34 Cloudberry Communications (2006) Kan man sälja Skåne med ”Wallanderfilmer”? from http://www.filmiskane.se/images/stories/filer/ wallanderanalys.pdf 35 The movietown Ystad (2013) A media analysis report 36 YSTADs KOMMUN. Between January and May 2009, the percentage of British tourists increased by 34% in comparison with the previous year. 37 Itta Johnson, Marketing Strategist, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallander_(UK_TV_series) 38 Lantz,Thomas (9 December 2009),”Större filmfond nödvändigt efter Wallander” (in Swedish),Ystads Allehanda, Skånemedia AB. Retrieved 10 December 2009. 39 Rothenborg, Ole (18 August 2009). „Vallfärd till Wallander-land” (in Swedish), Dagens Nyheter, Bonnier AB. Retrieved 21 August 2009. 40 Ystad Kommun (2012) TEM report 41 YSTADs KOMMUN.The Movietown Ystad. Media Analysis 2012
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Ystad also represents a good practice in terms of engaging SMEs, commercial operators and tourism companies. The management of the film set could potentially involve other partners to create new tourism products and operate the film set as a fun park.
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Merchandising is relevant since part of the tourism experience is to take home some kind of souvenir from a visit. This could be challenging due to the copyright of names and visual features of a movie or TV series. Ystad is a unique example where the public organisation itself developed a range of products with the slogan ‘So this is where the killings took place’, finding a creative solution to get around copyright issues since the destination was not allowed to use the name of the Wallander movie or anything linked to it. The new product name therefore referred to the crime theme of the film that is so crucial to the branding of the specific destination.
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6. Credits
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Bibliography Film London Suite 6.10 56 Shoreditch High Street London E1 6JJ www.euroscreen.org.uk / www.filmlondon.org.uk @euroscreen2 / @Film_London Tel: 020 7613 7676 Fax: 020 7613 7677 Research: Paulino Cuevas
EuroScreen Baseline Study: written by Maria Månsson & Lena Eskilsson for Lund University, Sweden; published by EuroScreen, 2013 Júzcar: Interview with the Mayor of Júzcar, David Fernández Malta: Compiled by Jean Pierre Borg based on desktop research, with contributions from Narcy Calamatta and interviews with the current directors of ‘Popeye Village’ Sandomierz: Data and information provided by the Municipality of Sandomierz. European Union’s Funds as an opportunity to promote film tourism: the Polish case, Sylwia Kucharska, Warsaw School of Social Sciences and Humanities Ystad: The Movietown Ystad Media Analysis 2012, Presentation, Ystad’s Kommun
Photos: Júzcar photos courtesy of Paulino Cuevas Malta photos courtesy of Jean Perre Borg Sandomierz photos coursey of Sandomierz Municipality Ystad photos courtesy of Ystad Municipality. Designed by Film London 2013, London
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Appendix 1 – EuroScreen Partners
Film London/UK Lead Partner
Apulia Film Commission (AFC)/Italy
Agenţia pentru Dezvoltare Regională Bucureşti - Ilfov
Bucharest-Ilfov Regional Development Agency (ADR-BI)/Romania
Fondazzjoni Temi Zammit (FTZ)/Malta
Lund University/Sweden
Maribor Development Agency (MDA)/ Slovenia
Malaga Regional Development Agency (Promalaga)/Spain Rzeszow Regional Development Agency (RARR S.A.)/Poland
Ystad Municipality/Sweden
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