A Filmmaker’s Guide to Screen Tourism

Since my appointment as delegate of the Mexican National Chamber of the Film Industry (CANACINE) for the State of Quintana Roo, also known as the Mexican Caribbean, I have become familiar with the phenomenon screen tourism.

In fact, screen tourism is becoming one of the key elements in policy making for the audiovisual industry in Quintana Roo, which includes what nowadays can be considered Mexico’s most important beach tourist areas.

In this article I will explain what screen tourism is, how it works and why this phenomenon has become popular in recent years. I will mention examples from several countries and discuss the requirements for and the benefits of successful screen tourism.

Finally, I will highlight the benefits of screen tourism for filmmakers.

In an article from July 2019, Robert Peaslee describes screen or film tourism as “watching a show or movie and then planning to visit the place or places where it was filmed”.

In basic terms, one can say that screen tourism is the phenomenon that people decide to go on vacation or otherwise travel to a location based on what they have seen in a film or a…