Social SciencesTourism ManagementGenre StudiesTourismTourism GeographyAudience ReceptionInvestigative FindingsLinguistic RegionsPopular Television Genres
Visiting the settings of popular media products has become a growing niche within the tourist market. This article provides a content‑based explanation for the popularity of one specific example: the TV detective tour. Three popular television series from different linguistic regions of Europe were analysed, each of which has led to substantial tourist numbers: Inspector Morse (Oxford), Wallander (Ystad) and Baantjer (Amsterdam). The tourist attraction of TV detective programmes is partly due to their topophilic character, with local colour, investigative narrative, and the opportunity for visitors to walk in the detective’s footsteps, offering an acquaintance with thrilling, guilty landscapes. No additional information.
■ Visiting the settings of popular media products has become a growing niche within the tourist market. This article provides a content-based explanation for the popularity of one specific example: the TV detective tour. Three popular television series from different linguistic regions of Europe were analysed, each of which has led to substantial tourist numbers: Inspector Morse (Oxford) , Wallander (Ystad) and Baantjer (Amsterdam). The results show that the tourist attraction of the TV detective programme is due in part to its topophilic character. First, couleur locale is extremely important to the narrative setting of the detective programmes; the narratives elaborate on existing tourist gazes. Second, the narrative development is characterized by a process of investigation and tracking. By taking the tour, viewers can walk in the detective's footsteps and relive the storylines. Finally, the TV detective genre promises the viewer/tourist an acquaintance with the thrilling, `guilty' landscapes of the TV detective. ■