Film tourism is defined as the visitation of locations featured in films due to their appeal to the audience, who will then be known as film tourists, as a form of escapism and connection to the narrative (Blower, 2011; O’Connor, 2010; Papathanassis, 2011). The development of film tourism depends significantly on how well the locations in films are presented and marketed to the audience. According to O’Connor (2010), its visual and vocal depictions are factors of consideration. For example, Hollywood movies such as Eat Pray Love (2010) and Bollywood movies with remarkable international outreach such as Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) depict India as an extraordinarily cinematic country with lush fields and beautifully architected monuments (Chopra, 1995; Murphy, 2010). The song-and-dance sequences in most Bollywood movies also tend to incite wonder and curiosity into its audiences, who in turn visit India to experience a type of real-life musical for themselves. Among the many attractive elements of film tourism in India, some can bring about disadvantages to the niche industry. This essay will describe how film tourism can lead to the exploitation of locals in India, evaluate the Code of Conduct put in place by the government, and suggest a more effective measure to counter this negative impact.
A significant issue
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The Indian government can better control the exploitation of locals if they take action immediately, enforcing the importance of the Code of Conduct upon its people and visitors, as well as having an input in films produced about the problem. With the active participation of people locally and globally, the negative impact of film tourism can be effectively managed so as to ensure that the niche’s vicious cycle does not continue in a downward