Fragmented geographies for the 2023 European Capital of Smart Tourism: Seville City Office’s film itineraries

Abstract

In the aftermath of the unprecedented surge in screen tourism, numerous European cities have developed initiatives offering visitors alternative ways to explore urban environments. This article examines the evolution of cultural tourism after the COVID-19 pandemic and focuses on the growing offer of film itineraries in Spain’s main urban destinations. To this end, it analyzes the potential of the film itineraries proposed by the Seville City Office to decentralize visitor flows, extending new narratives of heritage discovery to other parts of the city. Thus, this work explores, on the one hand, the key characteristics of the locations and neighborhoods suggested by the selected films and, on the other hand, the success of the films in terms of audience, as well as the awards they have won and the confirmation of the itineraries according to a “cine-mapping” strategy. An analytical-descriptive investigation is presented using the technique of scientific observation, studying the locations and cinematic reception with a clear and precise objective. Combining the analysis of tourism in the city of Seville with the results obtained, it can be seen that these itineraries, although proposed by an entity whose objective is tourism governance, appear to lack local consensus and show limited alignment with the city’s tourist dynamic—an aspect which limits their acceptance by both residents and tourists—despite being part of a cine-mapping strategy.

Keywords

Cultural tourism / Sevilla / Movie tourism / Sustainable tourism / Cine-mapping / Destination marketing and management organizations

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