You just binged a series, so why not visit where it was filmed? That is set-jetting, and in 2026 it is an eight billion dollar force. Here is how film and TV are steering travel, why the White Lotus effect matters, and where the trend is sending fans next.
You finish the final episode of a series you loved, and instead of scrolling for the next thing to watch, you find yourself opening a flight search. That impulse, once a rare little quirk, now has a name and a booming industry behind it. Welcome to set-jetting, where the places on your screen quietly become the next stamps in your passport.
What is set-jetting
Set-jetting is a simple idea wrapped in a catchy label, the practice of planning a whole holiday around the real world locations where a favorite film or television show happened to be shot. Rather than picking a destination first, travelers let the screen do the choosing for them and follow their watchlist out into the world.
The travel company Expedia is widely credited with first spotting the behavior back in 2022, and in the years since it has grown from a curious footnote into a genuine mainstream force. What began as fans tracking down a single iconic backdrop has swelled into full itineraries built entirely around scenes and stories.
The numbers tell the story
The sheer scale of the shift is genuinely eye opening. In research carried out for Expedia by the polling firm OnePoll, which surveyed twenty four thousand adults across eighteen different countries, a remarkable eighty one percent of Gen Z and Millennial travelers said they now plan getaways inspired directly by movies or television.
The enthusiasm is not confined to the young, either. Across all age groups, some fifty three percent of global travelers reported a noticeably stronger desire for screen inspired trips over the past year alone, a clear sign that the pull of the small and the silver screen reaches well beyond any single generation.
Money tends to follow attention, and the money here is substantial. According to Expedia's Unpack twenty six report, set-jetting is on track to become an eight billion dollar industry in the United States alone, as airlines, hotels and tour operators all scramble to cash in on the on screen wanderlust.
The White Lotus effect
If any one show captures the phenomenon, it is the one that sent crowds flocking to Sicily. After its second season aired, searches for the little coastal town of Taormina jumped by around three hundred percent on Expedia, while Google searches for the specific hotel featured on screen soared by more than five hundred percent.
It is far from the only example. Cornwall in the United Kingdom saw a fresh surge of interest after appearing in a hit fantasy series, and travel advisors now say a single popular episode can inspire a wave of bookings almost overnight, a speed of influence that traditional tourism campaigns can only ever dream of.
Where 2026 is heading
So which corners of the map are set to feel the effect next? Expedia's forecasters point to Yorkshire in England, riding the twin appeal of a fresh Wuthering Heights and the final Downton Abbey chapter, alongside the rolling hills of Tuscany in Italy, freshly framed by a much anticipated new release.
The list then stretches right around the globe. Samoa in the Pacific rides the wake of a live action Moana, Croatia's Dalmatian Coast and the Greek Peloponnese draw literary and mythic crowds, and far flung Palawan in the Philippines and Wellington in New Zealand round out a strikingly varied roster of screen born destinations.
Even familiar cities get a fresh coat of on screen glamour. Los Angeles finds itself back in the spotlight thanks to a returning comedy series, proof that set-jetting is not only about far away escapes but also about seeing the places closer to home through the flattering lens of a beloved story.
Why screens move us
There is real psychology sitting beneath the trend. When a program grips us for hours on end, its settings gradually stop feeling like mere scenery and start feeling like places we already know, so visiting them in person becomes a way to step bodily inside a world we have only ever watched from the sofa.
Streaming has poured fuel on that particular fire. With vast libraries just a single click away and social feeds full of tagged locations, the distance between admiring a landscape on a screen and actually booking a bed near it has never been shorter or more tempting than it is right now.
Traveling like a fan, done well
The trend does carry a genuine note of caution. When thousands descend on a small town made famous overnight, the strain on local streets, prices and patience can be very real, so thoughtful set-jetters spread out, travel off peak and treat these places as living communities rather than film sets.
Handled with a little care, though, following a favorite story right back to its source can be a real joy. It hands a trip a ready made narrative and a personal thread, turning an ordinary holiday into a chance to walk, at long last, straight through the frame of a scene you have loved.
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