For some years now, japanese pop culture productions have been a phenomenal succes outside the country. Japanese academics have brought content tourisms to deep the study of tourism dynamics linked to multimedia franchise. These trips, motivated by japanese creations, are being exported in their japanese form to Western countries such as Switzerland and Canada. Inspired by town of Colmar (France), Hayao Miyazaki used town’s elements as the backdrop for his movie Howl’s Moving Castle, creating a craze among fans for the Alsacian city. Already well-established in the regional and national touristic sphere for its gastronomy or its architectural and religious heritage, a new niche use is being created by the multiple dynamics coming from the fans, inhabitants or foreign companies.
My master’s thesis in tourism science and management sought to study how this new use, born of non-local pop cultural productions, was created and how it fitted into an established destination. In order to answer theses questions, an adaptative methodology had to be developed following the complications caused by the pandemic. My presentation will outline the main features of my dissertation, going back over :
1. Its theorical framework based on content tourism, with a contextualisation of Colmar and its links with Japan ;
2. Its composite methodological framework based on interviews, web analysis and a fieldwork ;
3. The results obtained and discussed, shedding