Set Jetting Boom: How TV Shows Are Rewriting Tourism Economics

A single HBO series has reshaped municipal economies from the Italian coast to Southeast Asia, accelerating a shift in how governments and travel companies view screen entertainment as infrastructure. Set jetting — travelers booking trips specifically to visit filming locations — has moved from a niche hobby into a primary driver of destination marketing budgets worldwide.

Expedia’s 2025 trend report found that two-thirds of global travelers now cite movies or television shows as direct influences on their trip planning. That figure represents a structural change in consumer behavior rather than a passing fad, one that regional tourism boards are racing to monetize before streaming algorithms shift audience attention elsewhere.

The economic mechanics of set jetting differ fundamentally from traditional advertising campaigns. Marta Soligo, Director of Tourism Research at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, notes that while billboards have geographic and temporal limits, a globally distributed series functions as an indefinite promotional asset. A show available on a streaming platform continues generating international interest years after production wraps, creating a compounding return on investment for locations that secure filming contracts.

Nowhere is this multiplier effect more visible than Senoia, Georgia. The small town south of Atlanta served as the primary backdrop for AMC’s “The Walking Dead.” Before the zombie drama began filming, downtown Senoia had six operating storefronts. By 2023, that number reached 150. Jay Markwalter, Statewide Tourism Director for Explore Georgia, points out that the state’s aggressive tax incentive program — which offers up to a 30% transferable credit for qualifying productions — was designed precisely to generate these secondary tourism windfalls. Georgia hosted productions including “Stranger Things,” “Forrest Gump,” and “The Hunger Games,” transforming locations like Savannah’s historic squares and the Blue Ridge Mountains into permanent pilgrimage sites for fans.

The pandemic supercharged this dynamic. Locked indoors and reliant on streaming platforms, audiences formed intense parasocial attachments to the landscapes depicted on screen. When borders reopened, the pent-up demand materialized instantly. HBO’s “The White Lotus” became the defining case study. Season one, filmed at the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, triggered immediate booking spikes in Hawaii. Season two pushed search volume toward Sicilian cliffside towns, while season three drove similar interest toward Thailand. Debra Loew of luxury operator Kensington Tours describes the phenomenon as destinations becoming essential characters in a storyline rather than passive backdrops, making them non-negotiable stops for viewers.

This pattern traces back decades earlier than most industry analysts acknowledge. Russell True, managing partner of the True Ranch Collection and owner of White Stallion Ranch in Tucson, Arizona, recalls the exact moment the 1991 Billy Crystal comedy “City Slickers” altered his business. His mother, fielding calls at the ranch’s front desk, was inundated with requests for cattle drive experiences mirroring the film. The ranch itself had previously hosted the 1968-1972 television series “High Chaparral.” True notes that dude ranching experienced a massive resurgence purely because Hollywood romanticized Western labor, requiring zero additional marketing spend from the operators themselves.

International tourism boards have since formalized what happened organically in Arizona. Following the 2018 release of “Crazy Rich Asians,” U.S. organic search interest in Singapore tripled, according to Google data released during the film’s theatrical run. Eileen Lee, Senior Vice President for the Americas at the Singapore Tourism Board, acknowledges that the fictional narrative did not represent everyday life in the city-state. However, the prominent placement of Marina Bay Sands, Newton Hawker Centre, Gardens by the Bay, and Chijmes created a highly specific itinerary that North American travelers replicated upon arrival. The exposure continues to anchor Singapore’s leisure marketing strategy in the U.S. market.

The financial upside carries severe ecological and cultural liabilities when municipalities fail to implement capacity controls. Maya Bay in Thailand, immortalized by the 2000 Leonardo DiCaprio film “The Beach,” suffered such catastrophic coral reef degradation and coastal erosion from unchecked visitor volume that authorities closed the bay entirely for three years starting in 2018. The closure highlighted a recurring failure in set jetting economics: destinations often lack the regulatory framework to manage sudden influxes generated by global media distribution.

Dubrovnik, Croatia, faced parallel pressures after serving as King’s Landing in “Game of Thrones.” The walled city’s narrow walkways became dangerously congested. To mitigate damage while preserving revenue, operators like ToursbyLocals pivoted toward smaller group tours led by residents who actually worked as extras on the series. Sara Cooke, the company’s director of communications, emphasizes that employing locals to provide historical context prevents the destination from devolving into a hollow theme park and ensures tourism dollars circulate within the community rather than leaking to multinational operators.

Destinations that survive the initial boom are those that build physical infrastructure around intellectual property. Andermatt, Switzerland, capitalized on the 60th anniversary of the James Bond film “Goldfinger” by partnering with The Chedi Andermatt hotel to offer private driving experiences along the Gotthard Pass, the exact serpentine route featured in the 1964 chase sequence. In Las Vegas, the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino partnered directly with Netflix to launch Netflix Bites, a culinary residency featuring menus inspired by properties like “Bridgerton” and “Stranger Things.”

Search data confirms the acceleration is ongoing across disparate markets. Expedia recorded a 30% year-over-year increase in Dubai travel searches following the broadcast of “The Real Housewives of Dubai.” Meanwhile, Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II” renewed international focus on Malta’s ancient architecture, adding another layer to a country already heavily trafficked for its historical filming pedigree. The United Kingdom remains the most diversified set-jetting market globally, sustaining parallel tour economies built around “Harry Potter,” “Outlander,” “Bridgerton,” and “Game of Thrones.” UNLV researchers currently advise tourism boards that securing a production contract is only the first phase; the long-term yield depends entirely on whether local governments integrate screen locations into permanent transit routes, hospitality training, and zoning laws before the cameras stop rolling.