Analysis of Budapest as a Film Tourism Destination

Introduction

Over the past decades, the Hungarian capital has appeared in many Hollywood movies – but mostly not as Budapest. Instead, there was a case when the movie ”Munich” featured the city as the double of three European capitals, London, Rome and Paris at the same time. Budapest has already ’played’ Berlin (Spy Game, Atomic Blonde), Moscow (Red Heat, A Good Day to Die Hard, Red Sparrow), Buenos Aires (Evita) and even Houston/Peking (Martian), along with several other examples. In recent years, the city has also appeared more and more frequently as Budapest – in this connection, and in a rather strange way, the city is very popular in spy films such as I Spy, Spy, and Spy Who Dumped Me. But what makes the Hungarian capital suitable to be the location for so many movies? And how can you build on this popularity in tourism?

The cultural and creative industries play a central role in boosting competitiveness, generating benefits that are unmatched in other areas. The segment includes activities that are based on creative skills and competences, having both cultural and economic impact. A typical example is the world of film, which can be defined as both film art and film industry, depending on whether it is approached from a creative or a business perspective. The film industry, as a broad segment of the creative economy, has the potential to stimulate the economy, which is clearly influenced by the regulatory, financing and economic environment, and it is therefore advisable to look at national specificities. In Hungary, the performance of the film sector has increased almost twenty-fold since 2004, with a quantifiable tax revenue generating and GDP increasing effect. In examining the Hungarian film industry, it is worthwhile to look at the changing economic environment, the changes in the performance of the film sector and the impact of legislation and legislative changes.

The boom of the film industry itself clearly facilitates the strengthening of the economic sectors linked to it. This theorem is also the basis of the research, as it attempts to identify the focal points that make Budapest a prominent player on the European film tourism map. To do this, however, it is essential to take into account the locations that can be associated with Budapest on the film screen, the actors on the supply side of film tourism, as well as the city's film tourism products.

Using primary and secondary sources, the research focuses on the supply elements of film tourism in Budapest and the changes in the economic environment affecting the film industry.

The focus is on films, that can generate travel in case of Budapest, being the capital itself or a backdrop venue. When examining the supply elements, different types of film tourism are explored, by visiting the given tourism actors: film tourism in a presumed location (Runaway Productions), film-themed tours, and visits to film studios. In addition, tourism products, that fit the consumer habits of the postmodern tourist, will be presented.

The case study shows on the one hand the incentives that have made the Hungarian capital attractive as a filming location, and on the other hand presents the initiatives currently linked to film tourism. In connection with the latter aspect, the walking tours by Moviewalking Budapest, the cycling tours by Tandem Budapest, and the Film Destination Budapest smartphone application will be discussed. Last but not least, the authors attempt to define how Budapest’s marketing communication could be based on the fact that the city has ”played so many capitals on the screen”.

The research clearly seeks to draw attention to the factors, that can boost film tourism in Budapest and make the city even more prominent on the film map of Europe.