According to Expedia’s 2026 forecast, “set-jetting” — taking trips inspired by TV shows and movies — is now an $8 billion industry in the U.S. alone. 81% of Gen Z and Millennial travelers plan getaways based on what they’ve seen on screen. Here are the 8 productions actually driving the bookings.
In 2022, Expedia data analysts noticed an unusual pattern: travel searches to Hawaii spiked after the first season of HBO’s The White Lotus. Searches to Paris spiked after every new season of Netflix’s Emily in Paris. The pattern wasn’t subtle. The company commissioned research and discovered that yes, real travelers were booking real trips based on what they’d watched. Expedia’s communications team coined a term: “set-jetting.”
Four years later, the phenomenon has scaled into a multi-billion-dollar industry. According to Expedia’s 2026 Set-Jetting Forecast, 81% of Gen Z and Millennial travelers now plan their holidays based on locations from film and television. 53% of all global travelers report increased interest in screen-inspired getaways. The industry is projected to generate roughly $8 billion in U.S. travel revenue alone for 2026.
The economic transformation has been substantial enough that tourism boards now actively court film and television productions the way they once courted airlines. Countries offer tax incentives to studios in exchange for filming. Hotels offer “set-jetting packages” featuring rooms used in popular shows. Tour operators offer guided tours of filming locations. The cinematic-emotional connection to a place produces booking conversions that traditional tourism marketing struggles to match.
Here are the 8 specific productions driving real 2026 travel bookings, what they’ve done to their respective destinations, and what visitors can actually experience if they make the trip.
1. The White Lotus — Season 4 location TBD (rumored France)
The White Lotus has produced what tourism analysts now refer to as “The White Lotus Effect” — a documented surge in bookings at any property featured in the series. The pattern is so reliable that hotels actively pitch themselves to creator Mike White’s production team.
Season 1 (Hawaii): The Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea saw a 386% increase in availability checks immediately after the first season aired in 2021. The resort’s bookings remained elevated for over two years.
Season 2 (Sicily, 2022): The San Domenico Palace in Taormina, where most filming took place, saw waiting lists extend over a year. Google searches for “White Lotus hotel” spiked over 500%. Taormina’s small coastal town transformed into one of Italy’s most sought-after destinations, with record hotel occupancy rates throughout 2023 and 2024.
Season 3 (Thailand, 2025): The Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui became the focal point, with the Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas, Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, and other Thailand properties also featured. Booking patterns suggest a similar 2-3 year tail of elevated tourism interest.
Season 4 (rumored France for 2026): Industry travel advisors have already reported surging interest in Provence and the French Riviera before a single frame has been released. The pre-release booking surge represents a new pattern — destinations being affected by anticipated rather than actual content.
For visitors: the actual White Lotus filming locations are real luxury resorts that anyone with the budget can book directly. The San Domenico Palace, the Four Seasons properties, and the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok are all open to non-celebrity guests.
2. Emily in Paris — Now expanding into Italy
Emily in Paris has driven sustained Paris tourism since its 2020 debut, with each new season producing measurable booking spikes. The 2025 season expanded heavily into Rome and Venice as the show diversifies its setting beyond Paris.
The 2026 season’s Italian locations include:
- Rome: Hotel Eden, Palazzo Fendi, and various historic Roman streetscapes
- Venice: The Grand Canal, St. Regis Venice, and traditional Venetian neighborhoods
For Paris itself, tourism authorities continue to manage the “Emily tourist” phenomenon — visitors who arrive expecting the show’s romanticized version of the city and sometimes disregard local etiquette. The city’s Musée des Arts Décoratifs and various cafés featured in the show have become genuine tourist destinations.
For travelers: while Paris is heavily saturated, the Italian expansion creates fresh set-jetting opportunities at locations that are still working through their initial publicity wave.
3. Bridgerton — Bath and English country estates
Bridgerton has driven sustained tourism to Bath, England and various English country estates used as filming locations since the show’s 2020 debut. Search interest in “Bridgerton filming locations England” has remained elevated through multiple seasons.
Specific locations driving bookings:
- The Royal Crescent, Bath: The iconic Georgian curved terrace that appears as the Bridgerton family residence
- Castle Howard, Yorkshire: Stands in for Clyvedon Castle
- Wilton House, Wiltshire: Used for various aristocratic interiors
- Wrest Park, Bedfordshire: Featured as the Crawford ball location
Bath has become particularly affected, with city tourism authorities reporting sustained increases in visitor numbers throughout the show’s multi-year run. The city’s existing Jane Austen tourism infrastructure has been substantially expanded.
For travelers: most filming locations are accessible to visitors, with several offering “Bridgerton-themed” tours, afternoon teas, and themed accommodation packages.
4. Wuthering Heights and Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale — Yorkshire, UK
The 2026 release of Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights film, combined with the Downton Abbey film series finale, has positioned Yorkshire as a major 2026 set-jetting destination. The Yorkshire Dales offer the moody, romantic landscape that’s central to Wuthering Heights‘ appeal, while Highclere Castle (the actual Downton Abbey filming location) remains accessible to visitors.
Specific locations:
- Yorkshire Dales National Park: The general moorland setting for Wuthering Heights
- Top Withens, near Haworth: Often associated with the original Brontë novel (though contested)
- Highclere Castle, Hampshire: Downton Abbey’s “Downton” — open for tours
- Bampton, Oxfordshire: Used as the village of Downton in the series
The combination of period drama tourism produces a specific type of visitor: typically older than the typical White Lotus set-jetter, often with substantial budget, frequently combining the trip with broader UK heritage tourism.
5. Nobody Wants This (Season 2) — Los Angeles
Netflix’s Nobody Wants This, starring Kristen Bell and Adam Brody, has become an unexpected set-jetting driver for everyday Los Angeles neighborhoods. Unlike the luxury resort focus of The White Lotus or the period elegance of Bridgerton, the show emphasizes specific LA neighborhoods, cafés, and casual destinations that produce a different kind of travel pattern.
Los Angeles tourism authorities have reported increased interest in:
- Silver Lake and Echo Park: Featured neighborhoods
- Specific coffee shops and restaurants that appear in the show
- The Grove and Original Farmers Market: Used in multiple scenes
The pattern represents a different category of set-jetting — visitors aren’t booking specific hotels but planning LA itineraries built around the show’s filming locations. The trend has been particularly popular with younger travelers who can’t afford White Lotus-tier resort stays but want similar set-jetting experiences at lower budgets.
6. Avatar: Fire & Ash — New Zealand
The 2025 release of Avatar: Fire & Ash and the broader Avatar franchise has continued New Zealand’s already strong set-jetting tradition. New Zealand tourism estimates that one in five visitors to the country comes specifically because of The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit films, and the Avatar films have added another layer to that.
New Zealand specifically invested in tourism infrastructure for its set-jetting market. Hobbiton (the actual Lord of the Rings film set, preserved as a tourist attraction since 2002) receives over 700,000 visitors per year. Wellington’s “Weta Workshop” tours and various Lord of the Rings location tours continue to operate at scale.
The Avatar films are filmed primarily in indoor sound stages with substantial digital effects, but the live-action portions and the broader landscape inspirations come from the South Island’s fjords, beech forests, and dramatic mountain landscapes. Milford Sound, the Catlins, and the Fiordland region all see Avatar-related visitor inquiries.
7. The Last Resort — Palawan, Philippines
The Last Resort (2026) is filmed in Palawan, the Philippines, in the El Nido and Coron areas that have been steadily building international tourism interest for years. The show’s anticipated release is positioned to potentially do for the Philippines what White Lotus did for Thailand — substantially increase American and European awareness of a destination that has been internationally underappreciated.
Specific locations:
- El Nido, Palawan: The crystalline lagoons, limestone karst formations, and beach scenery that anchor the show
- Coron, Palawan: Used for additional dramatic backdrop scenes
- Manila: Brief urban scenes
The Philippines has been investing in tourism infrastructure for years anticipating exactly this kind of cultural moment. Hotel and resort capacity in Palawan has expanded substantially since 2020. Direct flights from major U.S. and European hubs have improved.
For travelers: Palawan is genuinely beautiful and the tourism infrastructure is now substantial enough to support comfortable stays. Visiting in 2026, before the show’s full impact, may produce a better experience than visiting in 2027-2028 after the saturation wave hits.
8. The Odyssey (Christopher Nolan) — Greece
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey (July 2026 release) is driving “Mythic Tourism” to the Peloponnese region of Greece, where most of the film was shot.
Specific locations:
- Methoni Castle: The 13th-century Venetian fortress used as Odysseus’s return to Ithaca
- Voidokilia Beach: The horseshoe-shaped cove where the highly anticipated Cyclops scenes were filmed
- Acrocorinth: The massive acropolis overlooking Corinth, used for the film’s epic fortress scenes
- Costa Navarino resort: Where the cast (including Matt Damon and Zendaya) stayed during filming, now offering Odyssey-themed experiences
The film reportedly featured a real, 200-year-old wooden trireme (Greek warship) shipped specifically for the sea sequences — a detail that has generated significant interest in Greek maritime history museums.
The combination of Nolan’s distinctive visual style and the underlying mythology produces set-jetting interest beyond the typical “luxury resort” focus. Visitors are interested in archaeological sites, historical recreations, and the dramatic landscapes that Nolan emphasized.
What set-jetting actually delivers (and what it doesn’t)
Set-jetting trips can produce wonderful experiences when done well, but several caveats from veteran travel writers are worth noting:
The location often doesn’t look like the show. Cinematography, lighting, and post-production transform real places into something that doesn’t quite exist. The San Domenico Palace’s restaurant looks different in person than on White Lotus. Bath looks different than in Bridgerton. New Zealand looks different than in Lord of the Rings. The disappointment from arriving with cinematic expectations and finding ordinary reality is well-documented.
Some “filming locations” don’t exist anymore. Sets are sometimes dismantled after production. Fans of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin descended on Kefalonia, Greece only to find the film’s sets had been removed. Fans of Notting Hill find that the famous private garden where Hugh Grant romanced Julia Roberts is open to the public just one day per year.
Some scenes are filmed elsewhere. Poor Things viewers planning trips to Lisbon or Paris won’t find the film’s candy-colored landscapes — most scenes were shot in Budapest or on sound stages. The Crown’s “Buckingham Palace” interiors are filmed at various other locations rather than the actual palace.
Crowding can ruin the experience. Dubrovnik became so overwhelmed by Game of Thrones tourism that the city implemented restrictions to protect itself. Paris regularly battles “Emily tourists.” Local frustration is often visible. Visiting at peak set-jetting times can produce experiences that feel less like cinematic immersion and more like crowded photo-ops.
The “White Lotus Effect” can hollow out destinations. Hawaiian locals expressed mixed feelings about the attention brought by The White Lotus, especially in regions battling housing shortages. The visitor surge produces revenue but also displaces residents and can compromise the local culture that made the destination cinematic in the first place.
For travelers planning set-jetting trips, the practical recommendations from industry experts:
Book the actual properties when feasible. The Four Seasons Maui, the San Domenico Palace, the Costa Navarino — staying at the actual filming location produces a more authentic experience than visiting nearby hotels.
Group nearby filming sites. The Wicklow Mountains and Dublin can be combined for Wednesday fans. London and Bath can be combined for Bridgerton. Multiple New Zealand locations can be combined for Lord of the Rings. Geographic clustering produces more efficient itineraries.
Visit during shoulder seasons. September-October and April-May produce dramatically less crowded experiences than July-August. The cinematic feel often returns when the crowds thin out.
Book at least a year in advance for iconic sets. Costa Navarino’s Odyssey suite, the Chief Joseph Ranch (Yellowstone), the Royal Crescent’s premier rooms (Bridgerton) all book out 12+ months in advance.
Respect local life. Many filming “sets” are quiet neighborhoods where people live and work. Treating these as theme parks rather than living communities produces both bad experiences for visitors and genuine harm to residents.
The set-jetting phenomenon is real and growing. The 2026 productions on this list will continue driving bookings well into 2027 and 2028. The next wave of set-jetting destinations is already being filmed at productions still in development — meaning the 2027 and 2028 lists will look very different from this one. For travelers wanting to experience cinematic destinations before the saturation arrives, the productions on this list represent some of the most appealing current opportunities. The key is going in with realistic expectations about what the experience will actually deliver.
