Set-jetting: What is it and why is it popular in travel?

You’ve heard of ‘jet-setting’, but what about ‘set-jetting’? Here’s why this new travel trend has become all the rage with travellers…

Location, location, location

A new travel phenomenon is making waves in the tourism industry and chances are, you’ve already thought about it.

Punnily dubbed ‘set-jetting’, the new trend is the result of travel inspiration found in popular films and TV series, where viewers see and wish to visit those exact places or sets where movie or series was filmed. 

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As per Travel News, Lize Roodt, a Travel Counsellor, says that the ‘set-jetting’ trend has only been amplified over the last few years, after COVID-19 resulted in people being indoors, binge-watching movies and TV series.

“I have done my fair share of Eat Pray Love-inspired travel bookings. But even where a TV series or movie is not the main reason for travel, many clients like to add on day tours to these movie sets and special filming venues to fill their time in the destination.” Roodt said.

“Take Game of Thrones as an example. Perhaps a client will book a Croatia sailing trip and decide to throw in two nights in Dubrovnik so they can walk through King’s Landing. Or maybe your client wants to skip through the hillsides of Austria, singing ‘Doe, a deer’, recalling the Sound of Music – like I did many moons ago,” Roodt added.

“The panoramic shots and scenery panning can only inspire the watcher to wonder: ‘Where is that? I want to go there.’ And it’s wonderful. Bucket-list travel post-pandemic is a strong trend, and where would the clients find inspiration to create this list if not through their screens?” Roodt said.

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Where are these ‘set-jetters’ going?

According to Travel News, some of the top spots which have seen an influx of set-jetting travellers include:

• Dubrovnik, Croatia and Seville, Spain, where Game of Thrones was filmed.
• Matamata, New Zealand, where both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film series were shot.
• The Bernese Oberland in Switzerland and Lake Como in Italy, which are both featured in James Bond films.
• Bucharest, Romania, where the very popular series Wednesday was shot.
• Petra, Jordan,where Indiana Jones was filmed.

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