The image of Spain as a tourist destination through audiovisual productions. The case of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (Zoya Akthar, 2011)

Abstract

This article studies the tourist image of Spain projected by the Bollywood film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, directed by Zoya Akhtar. Released in 2011, the film is a paradigmatic example of tourism promotion of the Spanish territory by foreign audiovisual media, that identifies the country as a destination with a wide tourist offer characterized by important cultural, landscape, artistic, and gastronomic attractions. The text is divided into two sections. In the first, the tourist implications of audiovisual productions are analysed in general terms and, more specifically, the economic impact and marketing activities, as well as the shaping of geographical imaginaries, derived from film screenings. Later, this conceptual framework is applied to the specific case of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, explaining the possible correlation between its premiere and the increase in Indian visitors to Spain within the framework of the I need Spain campaign (2010-2016). Next, the film is studied as a road movie that promotes experiential tourism and generates specific geo-touristic imaginaries through landscape beauty, neo-romantic exoticism, and gender stereotypes.