the “shawshank trail”: a cross disciplinary study in film induced tourism and fan culture

Tourism, as a sustainable means of economic development, has attracted a considerable amount of attention from municipalities seeking to better understand their available development options. Film induced tourism has seen appreciable growth and represents a considerable opportunity for many communities to use filming locations seen in popular movies and/or television to draw additional visitors. These opportunities create an increasing need for communities and the organizers of events to better understand their attendees, the fans, in order to better serve their unique needs and desires. Fan culture studies, as an outgrowth of media studies, examine the nature and make up of fan communities. This article posits a cross disciplinary approach using fan studies to inform tourism research. This article reports on an analysis of attendees to an event celebrating of the 20th anniversary of the filming of the popular American film “The Shawshank Redemption.” Attendee characteristics, desired outcomes, and motivating factors were examined.