Bollywood Tourism in Japan: Current Challenges, Potential Directions

This research note explores the current challenges and potential of
Bollywood tourism to Japan. In doing so, it also assesses Bollywood tourism
within the context of contents tourism and brings a non-western perspective to the
study of film tourism research by shifting focus to Asia as a fertile area for
studying Bollywood tourism. As past research has revealed, Bollywood is
significant in the global cinematic context. However, studies concerning popular
Hindi cinema’s role in influencing travel decisions, and consequently tourism
flows, are still very fragmented, and they have not yet been undertaken from a
contents tourism perspective. Theoretical connections between Bollywood
tourism and contents tourism are discussed, with particular reference to
Bollywood tourism to Japan and the unique song-narrative format of Bollywood
cinema. Finally, the research note reflects on the current challenges facing
Bollywood tourism to Japan and potential future directions.