Television Series and Tourism : Impacts of a television series on its screened location and the relationship between the film production and the location

Abstract: Film tourism is a widely growing phenomenon with various benefits the filmed location can take advantage of. This study examines the impacts of a Turkish television series named Kavak Yelleri on its screened location, a Turkish Aegean Seaside town named Seferihisar. Besides the impacts of the series, the relationship between the screened location and the film crew is studied. This case includes a further particular feature; the screened location in Kavak Yelleri is named after another existing town, Urla, in the storyline, while it is actually filmed in Seferihisar. A qualitative case study approach has been implemented in order to scrutinize the subject. The empirical data was conducted through interviews with the municipality of Seferihisar and its local people, local people of Urla, and an interview with a member from the film crew of Kavak Yelleri. a) It becomes evident that the television series has positive social and economical impacts on Seferihisar. The power of media and the presence of the film crew are the main contributors. b) The discrepancy of location name between reality and storyline has affected the path of the film tourists. c) A well handled relationship between the screened location and film crew can have valuable implications for tourism.