WESTERN Australia’s striking natural beauty has captured the imagination of Japanese car manufacture Nissan, which is financing and shooting a short film in the State.
The WA Tourism Commission has worked with the Japanese production company CIA to get the film shot in the State using scenes from around Perth and WA as a backdrop.
The WATC leveraged its previous association with CIA to convince the director to shoot in WA, utilising crew from both Perth and Sydney.
And the WATC’s support, in the form of $5,000 worth of accommodation, and three business class tickets provided by Qantas Tokyo for the director and two lead actors helped clinch the deal.
WA Tourism Commission acting chief executive officer Richard Muirhead said it was a great coup for WA to be selected as a backdrop for such a high-profile vehicle manufacturer.
“A promotion such as this is our core international tourism market of Japan is a great marketing tool for the state,” Mr Muirhead said.
“It’s well documented that movies, drama series and mini movies of this nature drive significant tourism and commercial business to the host destination.”
Aside from smoothing the way for other Japanese production companies to travel to Perth, such exposure attracts Japanese holiday makers to Perth and WA.
Research suggests that dramas and movies featuring destinations from around the world have an immediate impact on the number of Japanese tourists that visit.
Locations featured on the Nissan project include the Perth International Airport, Perth city, Kings Park, a Perth beach, Fremantle and the Pinnacles.
WA’s market share of Japanese arrivals to Australia has risen from 5.4 per cent in 1997 to 8.1 per cent in 2000.
