Public Policy and Media Effect : Evidence from Sicily

Public policy aimed at regenerating and promoting local development gradually generated a rise of awareness related to the potential power of attraction of a territory. This paper analyses public support devoted to the production of the tv series Inspector Montalbano managed to strengthen the attractivity of the area and exert a powerful impact on urban tourism. The broadcasting of the Montalbano series in the UK, since February 2012, has generated tourist flows directed at South-Eastern Sicily, specifically to Ragusa and Siracusa provinces, by around 23-33%, compared to the other Sicilian provinces. Before this growth tourism flows from the UK proved lower in these two provinces than in many other areas in Sicily, such as Taormina. The continuity of such a flow, generated by a publicly supported tv series, was strengthened by public regional action aimed at accessibility, enjoyment and connections of cultural heritage located in the area. The impact of the tv series proved quite stronger if we consider that it not only exerted a positive impact upon tourist trends, as our paper demonstrates with reference to the attraction exerted upon tourism coming from the UK but also acted as a stimulus to the re-design of public policies aimed at preserving and promoting the local cultural heritage