Call for papers 2026: Audiovisual production and tourism promotion. Experiences and destinations

                             

AUDIOVISUAL PRODUCTION AND TOURISM PROMOTION. EXPERIENCES AND DESTINATIONS

Introduction and context
The importance of the tourism industry and audiovisual fiction in Spain is undeniable. Tourism activity in Spain reached €184 billion in 2023 (12.3% of GDP) and generated over 2.5 million jobs, accounting for 11.6% of total employment (INE, 2024). Meanwhile, video-on-demand (AVoD) in the Spanish market generated revenues of €2.489 billion in 2024, with projected earnings of €2.684 billion in 2025 (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2024).

Scientific research on the relationship between tourism and audiovisual content has confirmed the effects of audiovisual fiction on destination images and the motivations and intentions to visit these locations (Zhang & Ramayah, 2024; Nieto-Ferrando et al., 2021; Vila et al., 2021; Nakayama et al., 2021). For over a decade, institutions have sought points of convergence between these two industries, aiming for films and fiction series to help promote territories and their cultural and natural heritage (Sánchez-Castillo et al., 2024).

Specifically, cinema plays a significant and often unplanned role in tourist experiences, as it demonstrates how film consumption extends tourist experiences beyond the trip itself (St-James et al., 2018). Additionally, the integration of branding into audiovisual content can serve as a useful component in advertising strategies for travel and hospitality companies (Sharma et al., 2022).

The role of audiovisual content in promoting tourist destinations is beyond doubt. Television series also showcase the locations where they are filmed and the tourist experiences of their audiences, encouraging tourists to share more photographs on social media of places that are shown for longer on screen, feature more significant sequences for the narrative structure, and with which characters interact more intensely (Gómez-Morales et al., 2022).

The ability of audiovisual fiction to induce tourism can be framed within destination marketing strategies and contribute to deseasonalising and reducing overcrowding in tourism, as well as redirecting visitor flows and putting previously overlooked destinations on the tourist map. Promoting destinations and tourist attractions through television and cinematic fiction can enhance the performance of the tourism industry, although it may also have negative impacts on destinations and attractions, such as distorting the local economy or degrading the environment, among others.

Monographic objective
The aim of this monograph is to investigate film and television tourism, focusing on the experiences of tourists influenced by audiovisual fiction, the effects of this on destinations, attractions and destination marketing actions within a political framework capable of stimulating this type of cultural tourism.

Thematic lines
We invite you to submit your research related mainly, but not exclusively, to the following lines of work:

- Theoretical and methodological contributions to the study of audiovisual tourism.
- The effects of audiovisual fiction on the image of destinations and on the motivations and intentions of visitors.
- The experiences of film and television tourists, taking into account the socio-demographic differences and the typology of this type of tourist and their involvement in fiction.
- Destination marketing actions: research on the development of tourism products based on film and/or television fiction.
- Social, economic and scientific impact: research into the impact of audiovisual-induced tourism on local communities.
- Relationship between the audiovisual fiction industry and tourism (agents at the destination).
- Studies of the policies that frame film and television tourism in Spain.
- Analysis of the impact of current policies affecting audiovisual-induced tourism, as well as proposals for policies implemented in other territories.
- Impulses of fictional narratives in the construction of sustainable tourism.
- New technologies (such as augmented reality, movie maps or immersive, virtual tours, etc.) in the audiovisual tourist experience.
- Experiential marketing and memorable experiences.
- Film routes and rural tourism.
- The audiovisual representation of tourist attractions.
- The role of Film Commissions in the dynamisation of the territory.
- Legal framework for tourism and film.

Keywords: Audiovisual fiction; tourism; tourism marketing; cultural industries; tourism experiences, promotion policies, sustainability.

Deadline: November 15, 2025

Coordinated by:

Sebastián Sánchez-Castillo
sebastian.sanchez@uv.es

Lecturer at the University of Valencia. Principal Investigator of the Project ‘Analysis of the effects of audiovisual fiction on tourist destinations and tourist experiences (ADYTUR)’. Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (Spain) 2024-2027. PID2023-147875NB-I00. His latest publications include: ‘Methodologies, areas of knowledge and tourist destinations addressed in scientific research on tourism induced by audiovisual fiction, 1988-2021, (Information Professional, 2024); “A model for research on film-induced tourism: Audiovisual narrative texts, reception and effects” (Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights, 2024). ‘A model for research on film-induced tourism: Audiovisual narrative texts, reception and effects‘ (Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights,2024); “Tourism destinations masked in the symbolic constructs of ”Money Heist’, Netflix, 2017-2021’ (Communication and Society, 2024); “Tourist photographs on Spanish cultural heritage narrated in Game of Thrones” (Art Individual and Society, 2023).
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3751-6425
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.es/citations?user=PxPJGpAAAAAJ&hl=es
Scopus: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=55579357000
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sebastian-Castillo-13

 

Beatriz Gómez-Morales
beatriz.gomez@udl.cat

Associate Professor Serra Húnter at the University of Lleida. She holds a PhD in Communication and Journalism from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), with the Extraordinary Doctorate Award. She is a member of the Observatory of Spanish Fiction and New Technologies (OFENT), the Ibero-American Observatory of Television Fiction (OBITEL) and the research group on Transformations in the audiovisual media and their implications for political, cultural and social development (GRUP-TRAMA). His lines of research are television fiction, gender perspective and tourism induced by audiovisual fiction. Her most recent publications include ‘A Model for Research on Film-Induced Tourism: Audiovisual Narrative Texts, Reception, and Effects’ (Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights, 2024), ‘Understanding Film Fan Tourism: An Inventory of 15 Years of Research’ (Profesional de la Información, 2024), “High season is coming: travel motivations of Game of Thrones fans” (Current Issues in Tourism, 2023) and “(Re)Visiting Game of Thrones: film-induced tourism and television fiction” (Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 2022).
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0557-528X
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.es/citations?user=pc7xIhsAAAAJ&hl=es
Scopus: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=56120407900
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Beatriz-Gomez-Morales

 

Gabriela Fabbro
gfabbro@austral.edu.ar

PhD in Public Communication from the Faculty of Information Sciences of the University of La Laguna (Tenerife - Spain). Degree in Arts from the Faculty of Philosophy and Arts (University of Buenos Aires). Professor at the Faculty of Communication (Austral University) as Research Professor at the Faculty of Communication in the area of TV and Quality. Director of the Observatorio de la Televisión Argentina (based at the Universidad Austral), from 2005 to the present. Since 2008 Director of the Audiovisual Area of the Faculty of Communication at the Universidad Austral. Director of the Ibero-American Network of Researchers in Audiovisual Narratives and academic director of the Hermes Congress on Communication, Audiovisual Media and Analysis. Member of Orbicom, a network of UNESCO Chairs.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8875-5605
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.es/citations? hl=es&user=VGDqr9QAAAAJ
Scopus: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri? authorId=56041655300
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Gabriela_Fabbro

Visit https://nuevaepoca.revistalatinacs.org/index.php/revista/about/submissions to access all the information you need to make your submission.

--------------------------

References:
Gómez-Morales, B., Nieto-Ferrando, J., & Sánchez-Castillo, S. (2022). (Re)visiting game of thrones: Film-induced tourism and television fiction. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 39(1), 73-86. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2022.2044971
INE (2024). Cuenta Satélite de Turismo de España. Serie 2021-2023. Instituto Nacional de Estadística. https://bit.ly/3Qe7ZZV
Nakayama, Ch. (2021). Film-induced tourism studies on Asia: A systematic literature review. Tourism Review International, 25(1), 63-78. https://doi.org/10.3727/154427220X16064144339156
Nieto-Ferrando, J., Sánchez-Castillo, S., & Gómez-Morales, B. (2021). Audiovisual fiction and tourism promotion: The impact of film and television on the image of tourist destinations and contributions from textual analysis. Profesional de la Información, 30(6), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2021.nov.14
Price Water House Coopers (2024). Entertainment and Media Outlook 2024-2028. España.
https://bit.ly/3QcNInr
Sánchez-Castillo, S., Nieto-Ferrando, J., & Gómez-Morales, B. (2024). Tourist destinations masked in the symbolic constructs of «Money Heist» (Netflix, 2017-2021). Communication & Society, 37(2), 125-141. https://doi.org/10.15581/003.37.2.125-141
Sharma, A., Nicolau, J. L., & Mas, F. J. (2022). The effect of movie and television placements. Tourism Management, 91. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2022.104517
St-James, Y., Darveau, J., & Fortin, J. (2018). Immersion in film tourist experiences. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 35(3), 273-284. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2017.1326362
Vila, N. A., Brea, J. A. F., & De Carlos, P. (2021). Film tourism in Spain: Destination awareness and visit motivation as determinants to visit places seen in TV series. European Research on Management and Business Economics, 27(1), e100135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iedeen.2020.100135
Zhang, X., & Ramayah, T. (2024). Solving the mystery of storytelling in destination marketing: A systematic review. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 59, 222-237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2024.04.013