Have you ever read a book where you felt like you knew the characters personally? A book you never wanted to end? Well, every now and then a series comes along which attracts die hard disciples. Harry Potter was one such series, Twilight another.
Ever since the vampire saga was published, fans have flocked to -- and overwhelmed -- the sleepy American towns, Forks and La Push Washington, featured in the novels by Stephenie Meyer. You can imagine the shock to residents of these former ghost towns, with hundreds, sometimes thousands, of visitors pouring in every day.
The tourists, who aren't limited to teenage girls, photograph the local school, doctor's office, and residential houses -- all in pursuit of an "authentic Twilight experience."
Researchers from Mid Sweden University are now releasing a book of their own -- about the phenomenon of literary tourism: "I populärkulturturismens fotspår -- Twilight + Vacation = Twication©."
"People create emotional relationships with characters and places in books and films, and this motivates them to travel. This type of travel often creates powerful experiences, and the interest is being disseminated and developed also through intensive use of sites, blogs, and forums on the Net," says researcher and one of the book's authors, Maria Lexhagen.
The book also looks at the pop culture surrounding the Twilight phenomenon, with chapters on travel and the sense of community among fans, the role of social media, and how new literary destinations can take advantage of such marketing opportunities.
Indeed, if you've seen the dolls and various collectibles, you'll know that commercial fiction like Potter and Twilight reaches far beyond book sales. I've even heard of brands paying authors to be penned into their fictional works.
"A key to successfully developing tourism in the wake of movies and literature is increased collaboration between tourism and other creative businesses, as well as enhanced mutual understanding of the business logics of each industry," says another researcher and book author, Christine Lundberg.
The Swedes' book will be released on November 15. You guessed it, in time to coincide with the release of Breaking Dawn, the final instalment of the Twilight films.
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