Peñíscola: From beach to film set—film tourism, sustainability, and cultural affinity in the Mediterranean

Abstract

The growing influence of audiovisual media on destination image has positioned film-induced tourism as a strategic tool for the diversification and cultural repositioning of coastal destinations. This article examines the evolution of film-induced tourism in Peñíscola (Valencian Community, Spain) as a key element in the transition from mass tourism models toward hybrid and culturally sustainable configurations. Through a qualitative case study, it explores the interaction between cultural identity, tourism governance, and technology in the destination’s transformation process. The research combined documentary analysis, empirical indicators, and interpretive methods to assess the integration of audiovisual heritage into tourism planning and its alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals. Findings revealed significant progress in digital innovation, product diversification, and community participation, alongside persistent challenges related to data interoperability, unequal benefit distribution, and institutional fragility. Moving beyond overly optimistic narratives of screen tourism, the study adopted a critical stance on its cultural sustainability, identifying risks of fictionalization and dependence on external imagery. Peñíscola thus emerges not as a fixed model but as an experimental site of creative governance, whose practices contribute to understanding the complex interrelations between art, territory, and sustainability in Mediterranean cultural destinations.

Keywords

Film-induced tourism / Peñíscola / Cultural identity / Cultural affinity / Sustainability / Screen tourism / Audiovisual heritage / Smart tourism destinations

References

[1] Beltrán Martínez A. Breve historia de Peñíscola [Brief history of Peñíscola]. Zaragoza: Talleres Editoriales del Hogar Pignatelli. 1964. [In Spanish].

[2] Vera Rebollo JF. El modelo turístico del Mediterráneo español: agotamiento y estrategias de reestructuración [The Spanish Mediterranean tourism model: exhaustion and restructuring strategies]. Papers de Turisme. 1994;(14- 15):133-147. [In Spanish].

[3] Exceltur. IMPACTUR Comunitat Valenciana 2017 [IMPACTUR Valencian Community 2017]. Barcelona: Alianza por una Excelencia Turística Competitiva; 2017. Available from: https://www.exceltur.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/IMPACTUR-Comunidad-Valenciana-2017.pdf[Last accessed on January 6, 2026]. [In Spanish].

[4] Yin RK. Case Study Research: Design and Methods. 5th ed. Thousand Oaks (CA): Sage; 2014. Available from: Last accessed on January 6, 2026].

[5] Vallejo Pousada R. Economía e historia del turismo español del siglo XX [Economy and history of Spanish tourism in the 20th century.]. Hist Contemp. 2002;(25):203-232. [In Spanish].

[6] García-Romero L, Marrero-Rodríguez N, Dóniz-Páez J, Peña-Alonso C, Pérez-Chacón Espino E, Da Silva CP. Use and transformation of beaches as a tourism resource by promoters and managers in oceanic islands. A conflict for geoheritage conservation and social preferences in the Canary Islands. Ocean Coast Manag. 2024; 258:107378. doi: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2024.107378

[7] García-Barrero JA. The formation of the tourism labour market in Spain, 1955-1973. RHE / JILAEH. 2024; 42(2):269-299. doi: 10.1017/s0212610924000089

[8] Richards G. The challenge of creative tourism. Ethno. 2017; 38(1-2):31-45. doi: 10.7202/1041585ar

[9] Pine BJ, Gilmore JH. The experience economy: past, present and future. In: Handbook on the Experience Economy. Edward Elgar Publishing; 2013. doi: 10.4337/9781781004227.00007

[10] Connell J. Film tourism - Evolution, progress and prospects. Tour Manag. 2012; 33(5):1007-1029. doi: 10.1016/j.tourman.2012.02.008

[11] Beeton S. Film-Induced Tourism. Clevedon: Channel View Publications; 2005. doi: 10.21832/9781845410162-toc

[12] Hudson S, Ritchie JRB. Film tourism and destination marketing. Int J Tour Res. 2006; 12(3):256-268. doi: 10.1177/1356766706064619

[13] Tooke N, Baker M. Seeing is believing: the effect of film on visitor numbers to screened locations. Tour Manag. 1996; 17(2):87-94. doi: 10.1016/0261-5177(95)00111-5

[14] Richards G, Duxbury N. Cultural sustainability in regional creativity policies. In: Duxbury N, Richards G,eds. A Research Agenda for Creative Tourism. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing; 2019: 1-14. doi: 10.4337/9781788110723

[15] Hall CM. Framing behavioural approaches to understanding and governing sustainable tourism consumption: beyond neoliberalism, “nudging” and “green growth”? J Sustain Tour. 2013; 21(7):1091-1109. doi: 10.1080/09669582.2013.815764

[16] Gretzel U, Sigala M, Xiang Z, Koo C. Smart tourism: foundations and developments. Electron Mark. 2015; 25(3):179-188. doi: 10.1007/s12525-015-0196-8

[17] Buhalis D, Amaranggana A. Smart tourism destinations. In: Xiang Z, Tussyadiah I,eds. Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2014. Cham: Springer; 2014:553- 564. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-03973-2_40

[18] Zenelis P, Vasileiou M. The increase of International Audiovisual Productions in Greece - Impact on Tourism and the Greek Economy. AFIMEC. 2024; 5(1). doi: 10.12681/afiinmec.35366

[19] Riley R, Baker D, Van Doren CS. Movie induced tourism. Ann Tour Res. 1998; 25(4):919-935. doi: 10.1016/S0160-7383(98)00045-0

[20] Macionis N. Understanding the film-induced tourist. In: Proceedings of the Tourism and Hospitality Research Conference; 2004; Brisbane, Australia. Brisbane: University of Queensland; 2004:86-97. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228790015_Understanding_the_film-induced_tourist[Last accessed on January 6, 2026].

[21] Mestre R, del Rey Reguillo A, Stanishevski K. The image of Spain as tourist destination built through fictional cinema. J Travel Tour Mark. 2008; 24(2-3):185-194. doi: 10.1080/10548400802092718

[22] World Tourism Organization (UNWTO); Netflix. Cultural Affinity and Screen Tourism: The Case of Internet Entertainment Services. Madrid: UNWTO; 2021. Availablefrom: https://www.e-unwto.org/doi/book/10.18111/9789284422838 [Last accessed on January 6, 2026].

[23] Richards G. Cultural tourism: a review of recent research and trends. J Hosp Tour Manag. 2018; 36:12-21. doi: 10.1016/j.jhtm.2018.03.005

[24] Hall S. Cultural Identity and Diaspora. In: Identity: Community, Culture, Difference. Rutherford J ed. London: Lawrence & Wishart; 1990:222-237.

[25] Mannheimer E, Reijnders S, Brandellero A. Game of Thrones tourism and the (re)imagination of the new Northern Ireland. Int J Cult Stud. 2022; 25(5):554-569. doi: 10.1177/13678779221081148

[26] Throsby D. Sustainability and Culture: Principles and Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2017. doi: 10.1080/10286632.2017.1280788

[27] Mestre R. España plató de cine: claroscuros de las rutas de cine y televisión [Spain as a film set: light and shadow of film and TV routes]. Estudios Turísticos. 2023; 220:9-29. doi: 10.61520/et.2202020.58[InSpanish].

[28] Ministerio de Economía y Empresa. Spain, Audiovisual Hub of Europe Plan. Madrid, Spain: Gobierno de España; 2021. Available from https://portal.mineco.gob.es/RecursosArticulo/mineco/ministerio/ficheros/Espana-hub-audiovisual-en.pdf. [Last accessed on January 6, 2026]. [In Spanish]

[29] SEGITTUR. Sistema de indicadores y herramienta de diagnóstico DTI [Smart Tourist Destinations diagnostic indicators system]. Madrid, Spain: Sociedad Mercantil Estatal para la Gestión de la Innovación y las Tecnologías Turísticas; 2019. [In Spanish]. Available from: https://www.segittur.es/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SEGITTUR-2.pdf. [Last accessed on January 6, 2026]. [In Spanish].

[30] Peñíscola Tourism Intelligence System (SIT Peñíscola). Average visitor spending and satisfaction (NPS). Unpublished internal data. Peñíscola (Spain); 2024.

[31] Destinos Turistico Inteligente. Peñíscola. 2024. Available from: https://www.destinosinteligentes.es/en/destinations/peniscola/[Last accessed on January 6, 2026].

[32] Ivars-Baidal JA, Vera-Rebollo JF, Perles-Ribes J, Femenia- Serra F, Celdrán-Bernabeu MA. Sustainable tourism indicators: what’s new within the smart city/destination approach? J Sustain Tour. 2023; 31(7):1556-1582. doi: 10.1080/09669582.2021.1876075

[33] Teng HY, Wang FY, Chen YS. Can film tourism experience enhance tourist behavioural intentions? The role of tourist engagement. Curr Issues Tour. 2020; 26(18): 2588-2601. doi: 10.1080/13683500.2020.1852196

[34] Richards G. Creative tourism: opportunities for smaller places? Tour Manag Stud. 2019; 15(SI):7-10. doi: 10.18089/tms.2019.15SI01

[35] Beeton S. The case study in tourism research:A multi-method case study approach. In: Ritchie BW, Burns P, Palmer C,eds. Tourism Research Methods: Integrating Theory with Practice. Wallingford: CAB International; 2005:37-48. doi: 10.1079/9780851999968.0037

[36] Turisme Comunitat Valenciana. Estadístiques de Turisme de la Comunitat Valenciana 2024: Provincia de Castellón [Tourism Statistics of the Valencian Community 2024: Province of Castellón]. Valencia, Spain: Generalitat Valenciana; 2005. Available from: https://www.turisme.gva.es/tcv/tcv2024/3_Castellon_2024c.pdf. [Last accessed on January 6, 2026].

[37] Huerta-Viso PJ, Rello L, Ouarda L. Film-Induced Tourism, Destination Branding and Game of Thrones: A Review of the Peñíscola de Cine Project. Sustainability. 2024; 16(1):186. doi: 10.3390/su16010186

[38] Olsberg SPI. Economic Impacts of the Rebates for Investments in International Film and Television Series in Spain. Madrid: Spain Film Commission; 2024. Available from: https://spainfilmcommission.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Economic-Impacts-of-the-Rebates-for-Investments-in-International-Film-and-Television-Series-in-Spain.pdf[Last accessed on January 6, 2026].

[39] Velasco E. El turismo cinematográfico como factor clave de marketing para los destinos turísticos [Cinematic tourism as a key marketing factor for tourist destinations]. Doctoral thesis. Murcia, Spain: Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia; 2021. Availablefrom: https://repositorio.ucam.edu/handle/10952/5167 [Last accessed on January 6, 2026].

[40] Ganzemüller Hinrichs C. Peñíscola, 1961. El año de El Cid [Peñíscola, 1961: the year of El Cid]. Castelló de la Plana, Spain: Onada Edicions; 2021. [In Spanish]

[41] Ayuntamiento de Peñíscola. Film Route: Peñíscola de Cine [Film Route: Peñíscola on Screen]. Available from https://peniscola.es/en/what-to-do/routes-and-visits/. [Last accessed on January 6, 2026]. [In Spanish]

[42] Sarabia Andúgar I, Sánchez Martínez J. Film Commission y Film Office como agente consolidado de la industria en el marco del desarrollo del Hub Audiovisual en España (2022) [Film Commission and Film Office as consolidated industry agents in the framework of the Audiovisual Hub development in Spain (2022)]. ZER Revista de Estudios de Comunicación. 2022; 27(53):303-328. doi: 10.1387/zer.23532 [InSpanish]

[43] Rajas M, Paz Gil I, Gértrudix Barrio M. Sostenibilidad del film commissions: análisis de medidas medioambientales, económicas y sociales para una producción audiovisual sostenible [Sustainability of film commissions: analysis of environmental, economic, and social measures for sustainable audiovisual production]. Str Art Urban Creat. 2025; 11(4):171-191. doi: 10.62161/sauc.v11.5726[InSpanish]

[44] Ayuntamiento de Peñíscola. Los visitantes y turistas se convertirán en actores por un día este octubre en Peñíscola [Visitors and tourists will become actors for a day this October in Peñíscola]. Peñíscola.org. 2024. Available from: https://www.peniscola.org/ver/17802. [Accessed January 6, 2026]. [In Spanish]

[45] Ayuntamiento de Peñíscola. Peñíscola incorpora la realidad aumentada en sus rutas de cine [Peñíscola incorporates augmented reality in its film routes]. Peñíscola.org. 2023. Available from: https://www.peniscola.org/ver/15045. [Last accessed on January 6, 2026]. [In Spanish]

[46] United Nations (UN). 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. New York: United Nations; 2015. Available from: Last accessed on January 6, 2026].