Role of Bollywood in promoting Tourism
Divya Thakur
Asst. Professor
Banarsidas Chandiwala Institute of Hotel Management and
Catering Technology, New Delhi 110019
Indian Cinema has contributed
immensely to promote tourism in India and even abroad. Bollywood has
unintentionally and effortlessly portrayed some of the most popular tourist
destinations in India on the screens. Tourists are getting influenced with various
tourist destinations. The biggest film industry in the world has contributed to
the tourism industry by shooting at some of the finest and vivacious destinations
of India.
However the continuous growth in
travel and tourism industry, there are many trends where the industry is
flourishing at a fast rate. The tourism industry of the country has undergone
various changes over the time and Bollywood is one of the factors which are
also gaining popularity amongst commoners.
According to a recent survey,
Bollywood is estimated to enjoy viewership of 14million people on a daily
basis. This amazing fan base and an incredible mass appeal have significantly
influenced the Indian culture at large scale. It is not just restricted to the
culture but it has highly influenced the choices of Indian travelers as well.
In a country where people treat
their favorite Bollywood celebrities as Gods, they make it a point to visit the
places where their favorite Bollywood actor/ actress have shot for their
movies. Darjeeling became one of the most favored romantic destinations after
the release of Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore starer ?Aradhna? which
featured some of the stunning and alluring scenic beauty of the surroundings.
Flims Like ?Dor? and ?Dil Chahta
Hai? had set a surprising change in the tourism industry of Rajasthan and Goa.
The brilliant city theme based movies like Kahaani, Delhi-6 and the Kai Po Che
had flooded these cities with great number of tourists.
There are still few places which were not so popular
before we watched them on silver screen like Marble rocks in Jabalpur. The gorge along the Narmada River is a truly
spectacular sight. The splendid marble rocks give the place a surreal look. The
beautiful song ?Raat Ka Nasha? in the Shahrukh Khan starrer ?Aśoka?, was shot there.
Remember that gorgeous waterfall
from the film Chennai Express? Its name is Dudh sagar Waterfall and it is
located in the Goa state of India. Dudh Sagar Waterfall is one of the highest
water falls in India, and among the hundred highest waterfalls in the world. It
lies in the southern part of Goa at Mollem, towards the border with Karnataka
state. Dudh Sagar, literally means a Sea of Milk in the local Konkanni
language, and gets its name as it appears like an overflowing sea of milk. It
has a total height of 306 meters and a width of 30 meters.
Bollywood not just promoting the
tourist destinations but also it promotes few travel portals which may provide
sponsorship in movies like in ?Yeh Jawani hai Diwani?, where Ranbir and friends
set out on a group trek to Manali organized by none other than MakeMyTrip,
and the movie Jab Harry Met Sejal was also associated with Cox and King.
The young people who can afford holidays
are not watching television or reading newspapers. They are consuming content
online. When a celebrity is shown living an experience it becomes aspirational
and Instagram posts are way more personal. Social media offers reach and
engagement that a celebrity brings with his/her millions of followers which
cannot be matched by traditional media.
Tourism has been leveraging Bollywood
actor Ranveer Singh?s social media following. The actor who has seven million
followers on Facebook?s photo-sharing app Instagram and over eight million on
Facebook has been promoting the offbeat destinations and adventure activities
that the country offers through candid pictures and videos. Bollywood actors also endorse for famous travel portals like
Alia Bhatt and Ranvir singh endorse for Make My Trip, however Deepika Padukon
promotes Goibibo.com and Ranbir Kapoor is the brand ambassador of Yatra.com
Pvt. Ltd.
Hence, Bollywood movies and
celebrities play an important role in promoting tourism of India. There are few
celebrities also promotes state tourism in India, like Amitabh Bacchan is the
Brand Ambassador of Gujarat Tourism (Khushbhoo Gujarat Ki), Shah Rukh Khan is the Brand Ambassador of West
Bengal Tourism(, Kajol and Ajay Devgan promotes Madhya Pradesh Tourism and so
on.
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