Assessment of TV Drama/Film Production Towns as a Rural Tourism Growth Engine

Television (TV) drama/film production towns have been mushrooming in Korea to cater for the increasing popularity of film tourism. Most of these towns have been constructed by local governments to stimulate economic development, enhance the image and awareness of the region, and to fulfill the political desires of the local government officials. However, in the last 15 years, 34 towns have been established, which has led to heavy competition for film tourists and in attracting subsequent TV drama and film productions. Consequently, most of the towns are currently experiencing financial difficulties and are exploring effective measures to maintain their popularity. In this study, film tourists' perceptions of TV drama/film production towns were analyzed using a structured survey method. The survey data were analyzed using paired t-tests and importance–performance (I–P) analyses. The results reveal that the film tourists' had different perceptions of the I–P of the products and services provided by the towns. In particular, their perceptions of I–P displayed distinct gap patterns in relation to various socio-demographic and travel-related variables.