Cine-tourism: Deciphering The New Travel Trend

Have you ever heard of the term cine-tourism or set-jetting in English? These two phrases, which have not yet entered common parlance, refer to a rising trend in the travel industry: choosing your holiday destination based on your favorite movies or TV series! Decoding a phenomenon that's booming.

What is cine-tourism?

As its name suggests, film-induced tourism, or set-jetting in English, involves traveling to movie and successful TV series filming locations.

For several years now, the most popular films and series on streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have been inspiring travelers. Their enthusiasm for a fictional universe encourages tourists from all over the world to visit the cities and places where their favorite stories were filmed.

What is the origin of cine-tourism?

Film tourism is not a recent invention, as it follows in the footsteps of literary tourism with much older origins. Already in the 1950s, Brigitte Bardot helped make Saint-Tropez the leading tourist destination it is today.

In the realm of cinema, this phenomenon began to gain momentum with The Lord of the Rings saga in the 2000s. Following the release of the first film in 2001, New Zealand invested over 2 million dollars in promotion to link its destination to the universe of Tolkien's saga.

Since then, New Zealand has inspired others, and some countries like Ireland have followed its example successfully. In 2016, the Northern Ireland Tourist Board estimated that one in six tourists came specifically to visit the filming locations of the famous Game of Thrones saga and that this film-tourism activity had generated approximately 35 million euros in revenue in one year.

What is the extent of this phenomenon?

Today, film-induced tourism is a booming travel trend. Although Paris has always been a favorite destination for international tourists, industry professionals have noticed a surge in bookings following the global success of two Netflix series: Lupin and Emily in Paris!

According to a study by the National Center for Cinema published on January 18, 2024, nearly 80% of foreign tourists expressed a desire to discover the capital after watching a drama set in Paris. For 10% of those surveyed, this cinematic experience was even the decisive factor and the main motivation for their trip to France.

It is estimated that television series have a greater influence on travelers than social media when it comes to choosing their next vacation destination. Indeed, according to a study from the end of 2022, "streaming documentaries, movies, and series are now the second biggest source of travel inspiration [...] just behind recommendations from friends or family."

According to the travel booking site Expedia, two-thirds of travelers around the world have considered booking a trip to a destination after seeing it in a movie or series, and 39% have already taken the plunge.

Which destinations benefit from this phenomenon?

All destinations can benefit from the boom in movie tourism worldwide, whether they are small or large, already known or not. In fact, regardless of the size or reputation of a destination, hosting the filming of a movie or TV series can bring a lot to a city or region.

Since the release of Steven Spielberg's film "The Fabelmans" in February 2023, the online travel agency Opodo has recorded a 28% increase in flight bookings to Tucson, a city in Arizona, USA, where part of the movie is set. In Italy, it is the city of Naples that has seen a resurgence of interest among tourists since the adaptation of the novel "My Brilliant Friend" was filmed there.

The only downside is the risk of overtourism and overcrowding at certain sites. Dubrovnik in Croatia, for example, had to take measures to reduce tourist influence after some scenes from Game of Thrones were filmed in the old town. The same is true for Etretat in France following the filming of the series Lupin with Omar Sy...

If you want to discover the incredible diversity of filming locations of your favorite fiction, we invite you to check out the specialized website fantrippers.com (see link below). Riding the wave of movie tourism, the Fantrippers brand offers not only a website but also paper tourist guides to visit the cities of New York, London, or Paris following in the footsteps of your favorite heroes!