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This study aims to test the utility of Pearce et al.'s (2003) framework on film tourism in Otaru, Japan. This framework involves marketing the attraction according to five stages: resource identification, marketing emphasis, interpretation, sales and merchandising and broader community use. The existing studies have failed to adapt this framework to films. Subsequently, this study uncovers the necessity of an additional stage involving sustainability aspects.

A case study method was adopted, and Otaru, Japan – a popular film location – was chosen. Semi-structured interviews with the major stakeholders of film tourism, such as film commissions, representatives of the film and the tourism industries, tourists and the community, were conducted, and the participants were observed. Data were collected using the snowball sampling technique.

The study reveals that Pearce et al.'s (2003) model is applicable to film tourism by adding a sixth stage to address sustainability, such as the issue of overtourism.

The transferability of the framework to different film tourism cases is plausible. It is also critical for governments and tourism practitioners to consider the community's perspective for sustainability and maximize the use of films as promotional tools for destinations.

This study is the first to apply Pearce et al.'s (2003) model to film tourism, adding value to the literature by extending the framework to include an additional sixth stage to address sustainability.