The Impacts of Film Tourism on Place Change and Tourist Experience: A Lesson from Eat Pray Love in Bali, Indonesia

Abstract

This chapter aims to analyse and discuss how the tourist experience has been transformed over time in Ubud, Bali, in part by the impacts of the Hollywood film Eat Pray Love (EPL). A sudden influx of EPL-motivated tourists has resulted in dramatic and long-lasting changes to the existing tourism products and activities offered in loco. A subsequent change in the role and function of places to facilitate these new tourism products and activities is noticeable, changes that have also altered the experiences of tourists. The most significant changes that have taken place as a result of the impacts of the film EPL are twofold: the commodification of agricultural places and the commodification of social practices and sacred rituals. During this process, new hybrid forms of tourism experiences have been created, which have in turn led to the enrichment of the tourism experiences on offer in Ubud. A longitudinal autoethnographic approach was employed using direct observations and experiences, informal conversations with locals and other tourists, photographs and field accounts of the tours in June 2010, July 2013 and April 2016.