It’s long been accepted that movies are good for tourism.
Cue the new season of Emily in Paris which has seen a massive increase in Google searches for "Paris in autumn.”
Now, online games are having an impact. Most recently in northern China, which probably needs a bit of extra help to promote itself to tourists.
Black Myth: Wukong, a blockbuster online game that sold 8.4 million copies worldwide in three days, has sparked huge interest in the north China region
Of the 36 major sites where scenes have been shot, 27 are based in areas located in Shanxi province in northern China, about 500km from Beijing.
Visitors have been swarming to Shanxi and other places that appear in the game, such as a Buddhist temple in Xi province dating back to the Ming dynasty.
According to Meituan.com, searches for visitor attractions in Shanxi on the same day the game was launched rose by 156% compared to the same day last year.
The top three most-searched destinations were Yungang Grottoes, Fogong Temple Wooden Pagoda in Ying county, and Stork Tower.
Sun Jiajun, director of tourism development for Ying county, said most visitors in the past week had learned of the Wooden Pagoda through the online game.