Impact of the television series 'police inspector Montalbano' on tourism and cultural entrepreneurship in Sicily

Manola, Maria and Maniou, Fotini and Mitoula, Roιdo and Diannis, Ioannis and Vlassas, Vasileios (2025) Impact of the television series 'police inspector Montalbano' on tourism and cultural entrepreneurship in Sicily. International Journal of Science and Research Archive, 15 (2). pp. 178-186. ISSN 2582-8185

This paper examines the impact of the television series "Police Inspector Montalbano" on the tourism development of the imaginary city of Vigata, which is based on real locations in southeastern Sicily. Through the series, it highlighted the authenticity, culture and natural beauty of Sicily, attracting a large number of visitors and contributing to the development of the local economy and cultural entrepreneurship paper analyses the link between cultural production and tourism development, focusing on how the television portrayal of Vigata led to an increase in tourist flows. The contribution to local development and the challenges arising from this projection, such as the need for sustainable tourism and the protection of the authenticity of the place, will be examined. The "Montalbano phenomenon" is highlighted as an example of how film projection can act as a catalyst in tourism and economic development. The paper seeks to answer the research questions What is the role of the series in promoting Sicily as a tourist destination? How has it affected Sicily's cultural entrepreneurship?