Touring the Screen: Tourism and New Zealand Film Geographies - Tapa blanda

This is most recent, extensive, detailed academic research about film-tourism. This is the only book that deals exclusively with film-tourism in New Zealand. New Zealand is the most successful film tourist destination and it has subsequently inspired the marketing strategies of several other tourist destinations all around the world. This title features original methodological approach that combines close reading of selected case studies and history of cinema. This is an original and insightful reading of the history of New Zealand (and former settler countries) cinema. This book examines the relation between cinematic representations of New Zealand and the tourist imagery of the country. Recent film features that have represented New Zealand, both as an imaginary fantasyland and as a 'real' place, have served to reinforce the myth of a wild, pure and 'natural' New Zealand. This myth, in turn, has been exploited by the local tourism board, which, during the last two decades, has been able to create a successful travel brand destination, particularly by capitalizing on the possibilities of non-conventional publicity associated with "The Lord of the Rings" and other feature films. This work focuses on the textual analysis of the feature films that have been used as marketing tools to attract tourists to New Zealand. The book addresses students and scholars of New Zealand Cinema, Postcolonial Studies and Tourism Studies, however this work will also appeal to a broader, non-academic readership interested in New Zealand, New Zealand history and "The Lord of the Rings".

Alfio Leotta teaches film studies at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.