The Travels of Twilight‑Fans Fascinate in a New Book | 2011 |
Every day, hundreds and sometimes thousands of people pilgrimage to two small American communities, Forks and La Push. These people are inveterate Twilight fans. They photograph the local school, hospital and residential buildings – in the pursuit of the authentic Twilight experience.
In 2011, the tourism researchers at Mid Sweden University released the first book about Twilight fans and the tourism that has followed in the footsteps of the popular books and films: “TwicationTM – The Twilight Saga Travel Experience”.
The book discusses popular culture as a phenomenon, the fans’ travelling and community, the importance of social media and how the new destinations utilize and market their new products.
– What surprised us was the enormous commitment of the fans and the vital role that their web community plays in keeping the interest alive. Within the community, the fans create their own material related to Twilight, so-called fan fiction, for example spin-off series and books. So it is not just the commercial industry that influences the travelling, but also the fans’ own activities and exchanges with each other, says Maria Lexhagen.
The book was written by Maria Lexhagen, Christine Lundberg and Sigrid Mattsson.