In the 1990s, the Taiwanese soap opera Meteor Garden fuelled a rush of young tourists to Taiwan; over three decades later, the meteoric rise of BTS and other Korean artists has significantly improved arrival numbers to South Korea.

It goes without saying that Asia has become the epicentre for global pop culture tourism, what with much of the US$60 billion Japan earned in tourism revenues coming from foreigners on the seichi junrei [fan pilgrimage] circuit and foreign K-pop fans contributing to the US$14 billion earned by South Korea.

While originally written in 2019, a trend report from Locaria perfectly illustrates the scene:

“A huge motivation for this popularity is often attributed to Japanese pop culture such as anime and manga, as well as attractions such as Tokyo One Piece Tower, Sanrio Puroland, and the Doraemon museum. It’s not unheard of for fans of certain anime to congregate in otherwise commonplace areas. 

“Pop music is also an enormous pull factor for people visiting these destinations. Both Japan and South Korea have mature and flourishing travel tour industries catered to J-pop and K-pop fans so that they can follow their idols’ shows and concerts for several days. Related promotions are often made to encourage tourism alongside concert visits.”

In the context of regional tourism development, however, we have to ask: what is really fuelling such a sustained surge of popularity and could such industrial momentum be replicated elsewhere in the world?

Four factors in play

The Asian pop culture tourism scene is actually being driven by five specific concepts wherein individual nations are leveraging their soft power to draw in global travellers.

The rise of streaming platforms and social media since 202 have helped propel these into global awareness, and emergent technologies have also tipped the scale in the region’s favour.

Streaming and socials give Asia the upper hand

Throughout the pandemic, streaming platforms like Netflix and Disney+ enabled those in the West to see what their Eastern neighbours were up to, and regional platforms like Southeast Asia’s Viu and China’s iQiyi offered Asians a full slate of programming.

Such programming gave viewers instant emotional connections to filming locations and local lifestyles.

Tantalised by productions aired through these platforms, global viewers were driven to revenge travel once borders reopened, fuelling the current surge in inbound travel.

Setjetting for fandoms

Another aspect of Asian pop culture that has driven in foreign travellers is the seichi junrei mindset that causes fans to flock to filming sites or locations featured in popular intellectual properties (IPs) like anime, manga/manhwa, and live-action productions.

Indeed, the optimised visibility of Japanese IPs led to a 195 percent year-on-year increase in searches for related travel experiences on global platform Trip.com. 

Also, as we recently reported, IPs have also decreased overtourism in Japan by diverting tourist traffic to the country’s secondary destinations, boosting their visibility to foreign travellers whose arrival leads to a shot in the arm for local economies.

The power of concert tourism

The 23-nation Arirang World Tour for Korean pop phenomenon BTS is being hailed as a masterclass for pop culture tourism marketing as fans scramble to follow the boys in the band wherever they go.

When the tour kicked off in April, experts projected that it would generate approximately US$2 billion in total revenues by the time it ends in March of next year, whilst driving up flight and hotel bookings in concert stops.

Between them Japan and South Korea have shown that local acts raised to global standards are an attraction in their own right and fans really are willing to follow their idols wherever they go.

But the impact of concert tourism in Asia goes beyond BTSnomics or the longevity of the J-pop scene: Singapore may not have any powerful crowd-drawing acts on the same level, but it has secured its slice of the proverbial pie by hosting some of the biggest global acts over the past year, including Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga, netting more than US$40 million in tourism and hospitality revenues.

Government support is the ace here

None of this, of course, would be possible if not for the active support of national governments.

Both Japan and South Korea see the whole gamut of concert tourism, IP-centric destination marketing, and fan tours as strategic economic drivers rather than the novelties they were once seen to be. 

Campaigns like Japan's Cool Japan and Korea's Hallyu policy integrate national branding, streamlined visas, and tourism promotions to actively welcome fans to the source of their favorite media. 

Here’s the kicker: can anyone else in the world replicate their success?

The Indian Subcontinent is one area that could potentially give its East Asian counterparts a run for their money in terms of pop culture tourism.

Remember: this is the home of Bollywood, a film industry that generates up to US$2.5 billion per annum for the national economy, and has its own massive global fanbase.

Bollywood locations like Ramoji Rao Film City pull in an average of 1.5 million tourists annually, while Mumbai’s Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagri draws in a more modest 100,000 per annum.

But for the Bollywood tourism scene to grow to the same proportions as Asia’s pop culture tourism boom, the country needs to consider the following:

• Proper infrastructural development India needs to establish permanent, immersive pop-up sets, character-driven memorabilia, and dedicated studio tours like those in Mumbai's Film City. Rather than just traditional sightseeing, states should map out specific, Instagrammable "set-jetting" itineraries based on blockbuster regional films and global OTT series;
• Promote spiritual and mythological sites to establish international linkages By heavily promoting key spiritual and mythological sites like Varanasi and Bodh Gaya in markets like Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia, India can draw tourists eager to explore the origins of their own cultural heritage; and
• Consider cross-border productions Facilitating co-productions and cross-cultural media exchanges with Southeast Asian entertainment industries will inherently drive cross-border tourism.