2020 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Challenges and Potentials of Transnational Film/Contents Tourism: A Case Study of Japanese Fan Tourists in Germany
| Project/Area Number |
19K20565
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| Research Institution | Kanazawa University |
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Principal Investigator |
THELEN TIMO 金沢大学, 歴史言語文化学系, 講師 (90837452)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
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| Keywords | Tourism / Authenticity / Media / Fans |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
More interviews with former tourists fostered the popularity of Nordlingen as the supposed filming location of Attack on Titan among young Japanese. As there is no official tourist infrastructure related to this series, tourists' activities must be creative. Williams (2020) called this approach "spacial poaching", the creating of own stories at the place to fill in narrative gaps. The interviewees so re-enacted iconic scenes with themselves as the protagonists. However, as Nordlingen is not an official location, the lack of authenticity is crucial. I consider Cohen and Cohen's concept "authentication" (2012), which sets authenticity in the experience of tourists, a valuable concept to explain why the obvious inauthenticity of Nordlingen does not disturb the tourists' positive perception.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
The worldwide pandemic continues to not allow oversea research activities. Thus, unfortunately, the planned excursion to Nordlingen and interviews with local stakeholders must still be postponed. I also meet the tourism scholars Jang and Funck from Hiroshima University for advice. However, I conducted four more in-depth interviews with former tourists in Japan and intensively read research literature of media tourism and contents tourism studies.
I have successfully submitted and published an article on this research project in the peer-reviewed “Participations”, an influential and acclaimed online journal of media studies.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
In the second half of the fiscal year 2021, when corona is hopefully largely disappeared thanks to the vaccine, I will visit Nordlingen and conduct more interviews with tourists as well as local stakeholders.
I will present this research at an international online conference in Rotterdam in April.
I am also planning to pen one more peer-reviewed journal article on this research project.
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| Causes of Carryover |
The corona crisis, unfortunately, lead to the cancellation of all interview appointments abroad and a planned excursion to Nordlingen in 2020.
I hope to be able to conduct this postponed research in the second half of 2021, so that the incurred amount will be used then.
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