{"id":7480,"date":"2025-04-28T15:05:31","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T15:05:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.datapulse.de\/?p=7480"},"modified":"2026-09-05T20:17:07","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T20:17:07","slug":"set-jetting-hotlist-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.datapulse.de\/en\/set-jetting-hotlist-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"The Set-Jetting Hotlist: What Set-Jetting Means and 8 Locations About to Boom"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jump straight to our 2025 predictions below clicking here \u2193<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Traveling to famous filming locations is no longer a niche trend. Twenty years ago, The Lord of the Rings<\/em> trilogy drew tourists to New Zealand. Today, fans of White Lotus<\/em> are flocking to the paradisiacal settings featured in the hit U.S. series. This article reveals which destinations could become must-visits for set-jetters in 2025.<\/p>\n

Lately, there\u2019s been a lot of buzz about Koh Samui preparing for a tourism boom. Hotel operators and restaurateurs are hopeful that more affluent travelers will discover the island paradise\u2014arriving with deep pockets and dreams of luxury resorts. Fueling this optimism is the so-called “White Lotus effect.” The cult HBO series has reportedly inspired TV lovers in recent years to spend their holidays at iconic filming locations. This phenomenon, known as set-jetting, is far from new\u2014but it’s gaining momentum.<\/p>\n

However, the path from screen appearance to a bustling tourist hotspot isn’t always straightforward. Unsurprisingly, not every film or TV destination becomes a major tourist attraction. In the case of the Mad Max films, for example, the subsequent increase in Australian tourist numbers was short-lived. The same is true of Kazakhstan, which welcomed a few more tourists than normal after the release of Borat, but those figures soon dropped back to normal levels. So, what distinguishes a fleeting trend from a lasting tourism phenomenon?<\/p>\n

Pedro Barbadillo works as a film consultant in Mallorca, Spain, and was until recently the island\u2019s film commissioner. He advises film crews on how to ensure a film\u2019s authenticity and credibility, among other things. He explains the following about screen tourism and its impact:<\/p>\n

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\"Pedro<\/div>\n
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\u201cScreen tourism, or set-jetting, can be traced back to the late 1980s. It has grown significantly over the past few decades. […] The location must appear in an iconic film or series that becomes a cultural phenomenon for a specific social group\u2014like Millennials or Gen Z.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pedro Barbadillo<\/div>\n
Film Consultant, Mallorca<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Cult HBO hit, The White Lotus<\/em> is widely credited with inspiring TV lovers to plan their next getaway around an on-screen destination (spoiler alert: this season it\u2019s Thailand). And while we can definitely understand the allure of swapping the freezing East Coast for the tropics, this is one trend that\u2019s been around a lot longer than you might think.<\/p>\n

Middle Earth (aka New Zealand) was the first set-jetting hot spot<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When The Lord of the Rings<\/em> and The Hobbit<\/em> trilogies launched in 2012, New Zealand was inundated with tourists keen to catch a glimpse of Middle Earth. As the chart below shows, the year-on-year growth rate in the number of tourists visiting New Zealand rose sharply from near zero in 2012 to more than 11% in 2016.<\/p>\n