How On-Screen Locations Become Travel Destinations

More and more travelers are seeking out the actual filming locations of their favorite shows, even though the reality of life there is very different from how it is portrayed.

Filming the third season of the Emmy Award-winning series The White Lotus is finished and HBO released a teasing this week that revealed some intriguing new casting details. When the first two seasons of the series took place in Hawaii and Sicily respectively, Expedia noticed that searches for destinations increased by more than 300%. Similarly, traffic increased by 160% in the London suburb of Richmond, where Ted Lasso was filmed and 65% for Norway after his appearance in the last season of Succession. If these trends are any indication, the number of travelers searching for Bangkok, Phuket and Ko Samui (White Lotus season three filming locations), is also expected to increase soon.

This phenomenon of “set-jetting”, where travelers go to the filming locations of popular shows and films, has been gaining ground in recent years. But thanks to its growing popularity, Expedia named it one of its main travel trends of 2024.

Yet while many travelers go to film locations expecting those destinations to resemble their on-screen characters, the reality is often quite different. The Los Angeles sun is often subject to overcast weather.The gloom of June” early summer, and laid-back Amsterdam was crack down on tourists who view the city as just a party destination.

Another city often depicted with a particularly rosy glow is Paris. In fact, it has even been known to inspire a psychotic state in visitors. Known as Paris syndromethis rare phenomenon can include heart palpitations, dizziness and even hallucinations, and is thought to be brought on by a combination of culture shock and extreme disappointment that the French capital does not live up to its idealized depiction.

While the popularity of the Netflix series Emilie in Paris saw a increase in the number of visitors to the citysome people seem crushed to find that the City of Lights isn't always filled with high-fashion, attractive single men. On the contrary, Parisians have a reputation for being a little distant with visitors.

“It’s still a city,” explained Afua Dansosinger-songwriter and vocal coach who has lived in London and Paris. “(There are still) trash bags… (there are still) rats. To be honest, (I think) a lot of Parisians are annoyed by tourists because it's like, 'My God, you have all this romantic vision of our city, and we're tired of our city, and we're tired of you too.'”

Another destination that looms large in the imagination of viewers and travelers is New York City. Fans of shows like And just like thatthe sequel to the popular 1990s show Sex in the City, could be forgiven for expecting the Big Apple to be full of glitz and glamour. Movies and television series often highlight the upscale lifestyle of New Yorkers and suggest that it is common for the average person to live in a spacious apartment overlooking Central Park. Yet the size of the city's apartments on television compared to what the characters do for a living is often the butt of jokes among local residents.

“My first apartment was located on 30th Street and 8th Avenue, right next to Penn Station,” said Taylor DeNapolidancer and event organizer. “It was the size of my bathroom now, with a shared bathroom and a shower down the hall. It's safe to say that the apartments you see on TV are made for movie sets .”

In the same way, Italy is often portrayed as being full of delicious food, quaint towns, and beautiful people. Countless movies and shows like the Netflix drama From scratch praised cities like Florence as the ideal place to fall in love. Meanwhile, the classic film Under the Tuscan sun has prompted many viewers to consider the possibility of renovating a dilapidated Italian villa. This romanticized impression, however, may be far from the truth.

“The reality is that Italy is a beautiful, complicated and frustrating place,” says Kathy McCabe, host of the PBS show. Dream of Italy and founder of the eponymous magazine. “Bureaucracy seems like a stereotype, but it's a reality. It can be difficult to get things done in Italy. Dealing with any type of renovation… movies sometimes make it seem romantic, but renovating an old house can take three, four or five times longer than it seems and costs a lot more.”

One show that perhaps captured at least a little bit of the experience of living in an iconic city is Flea baginstalled in London. In it, the title character's brash sense of humor often rubs his fellow Londoners the wrong way. “London, in general, is more reserved,” Danso explained.

Despite the less glamorous realities residents of these cities experience, they are adamant that they are still worth visiting. “New York can be glitzy and glamorous in one neighborhood, then trashy and grunge in the next,” DeNapoli said. “That’s what makes it so special to me… Big or small (apartments), the city will always have a special place in my heart.”

Although the way a destination is depicted on screen may make you want to visit it, it should not be used as a template for what to expect. In fact, many of these fictionalized representations instead reveal how not to better experience the unique local culture of a place. For example, instead of spending so much time at their resorts, guests in the first two seasons of The White Lotus could have gained a deeper understanding of Hawaiian and Italian culture if they had met more local people.

So while the third season of the sharp-edged dark comedy is bound to be drama-filled and titled Rich Travelers, we hope it will also feature plenty of scenes from Bangkok's frenetic night markets or Phuket's sleepy fishing villages – plus scenes from The White. The Lotus luxury resort. After all, spending time as residents do, seeking out local experiences and letting go of your expectations of what a place is “supposed” to be, may simply provide a more enriching travel experience.