BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Xinhua): Blockbusters are doing more than leading the holiday box office at the beginning of the Year of the Horse in China -- they are reshaping holiday travel patterns, fuelling a nationwide boom in movie-inspired tourism.
According to online ticketing platforms, the total Spring Festival box office revenue (including pre-sales) has surpassed 4 billion yuan (about US$576 million) by Saturday, with the racing-comedy "Pegasus 3" topping the charts.
Notably, the momentum of "Pegasus 3" extends well beyond cinemas.
Data from travel platform Qunar showed that hotel bookings in Garze, southwest China's Sichuan Province -- one of the film's primary shooting locations -- surged 40 per cent compared to last year's Spring Festival holiday, while bookings in another shooting site, Delingha, Qinghai Province, jumped 71 per cent.
"As soon as I finished watching 'Pegasus 3,' I rushed to plan a family spring trip to Garze to check in the racetrack featured in the film," said Shanghai car enthusiast Xia Lin. She has been a devoted fan since the "Pegasus" franchise was launched in 2019.
The film has also sparked a new wave of themed city tours in Shanghai, where the metro line, bridge, park, and city landmarks appearing in the film have become fan-favourite check-in spots.
"During this year's Spring Festival season, the driving effect of films on culture and tourism has come earlier than usual," said Yang Han, a researcher at Qunar's Big Data Research Institute.
Thanks to the popularity of the previous two installments, fans of the "Pegasus" franchise have held high expectations for its storyline and visuals. A considerable number of them planned their trips before the release of the latest installment, he said.
The comic-adapted film "Blades of the Guardians," directed by renowned action choreographer Yuen Woo-ping and featuring martial arts stars Jet Li and Wu Jing, has also sparked strong interest in the dramatic but less-travelled desert landscapes of northwest China's Xinjiang. Data from Qunar showed that searches for desert sightseeing and desert highway tours climbed 60 percent ahead of the film's release.
Beyond the appeal of creativity in the film industry, the convergence of film and tourism during this Spring Festival holiday appears more systematic and policy-driven. -- Xinhua
