A recent film, "Letter to Grandma," has captivated audiences with its genuine and heartfelt narrative. The movie's success has translated into a tourism boom for its filming locations, with the Chaoshan region in Guangdong emerging as one of the most sought-after travel destinations. Data from TONGCHENGTRAVEL reveals that from the film's release to May 25th, search popularity for destinations such as "Shantou," "Chaozhou," and "Jieyang" increased by over 200% compared to the previous period. Flight bookings to Jieyang Chaoshan International Airport saw a 128% rise in popularity.
During the film's peak screening period, the top ten source markets for visitors to the Chaoshan region were Zhejiang, Sichuan, Shanghai, Chongqing, Jiangsu, Yunnan, Hainan, Beijing, Hubei, and Hunan, with a notable increase in the proportion of inter-provincial tourists. The film's influence is rapidly converting into actual tourism consumption.
TONGCHENGTRAVEL data indicates that during the film's popularity, ticket bookings for attractions like the Chen Cihong Former Residence in Shantou surged by 187%. Small group tour products including Chaozhou's Longhu Ancient Village experienced a 134% increase in bookings. Hotel and homestay bookings within a 3-kilometer radius of these attractions grew by over 100%, significantly outpacing the citywide average.
While the primary filming locations saw heightened interest, this also positively impacted surrounding popular attractions. Ticket bookings for sites such as Huangmanzhai Waterfall, Zongbingfu, and Guangji Bridge all increased by over 120%.
In recent years, numerous travel destinations have been boosted by film and television productions. "My Altay" popularized Xinjiang's Altay region, "Black Myth: Wukong" brought sustained attention to ancient architectural cities like Datong and Shuozhou in Shanxi, "Meet Yourself" made Dali, Yunnan, a desired destination for urban dwellers, "Blossoms Shanghai" increased the popularity of filming locations like Shanghai's Huanghe Road, "The Knockout" led to a significant rise in visitor traffic to Jiangmen's Changdi Street in Guangdong, and "Nezha: Birth of the Demon Child" boosted interest in Yibin, Sichuan, known as "Nezha's Hometown."
Analysis suggests that the impact of film and television IP on tourism destinations is evolving from a short-lived phenomenon to providing long-term empowerment. The duration of increased tourism popularity for filming locations has extended to 6 to 12 months, with high-quality IPs even sustaining growth across years. This shift reflects a deeper transformation in cultural and tourism consumption: tourists are no longer content with merely "taking the same photo" but seek to "immerse themselves in the storyline." When a filming location becomes a spiritual landmark that carries the audience's emotions, the act of "checking in" elevates to "empathizing," and transient "traffic" solidifies into lasting "retention."
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