When TV Shows Reimagine Places: How Set Jetting Boosts Tourism

First you stream, then you book. TV shows and movies have long since stopped being just a thing for fans; they also influence our travel plans. When people dream of a place today, they often have a scene, a mood, or an image in their mind that sticks with them.

Set-jetting shows just how much stories shape our perception of places. Travel destinations attract visitors not only because of their landscapes, architecture, or weather, but also because of the images we associate with them. A place becomes more appealing the moment it takes on a role in our minds.

The other day, I paused a TV show I was watching. Not because of the plot, but because of the setting. A hallway, a terrace, a view of the water. Everything about it felt familiar yet charged with emotion. For a moment, it became clear exactly why this setting stuck with me. Through the story, the scene suddenly took on a tension all its own.

That is precisely where the power of set jetting lies. Travel is no longer driven solely by tourist attractions or marketing campaigns. Increasingly, it is images and atmospheres that leave a lasting impression of a place and spark the desire to experience it firsthand.

Why TV Show Locations have such a Powerful Impact

TV shows turn places into more than just backdrops. They give them tension, rhythm, and meaning. A travel guide tells you what’s worth seeing. A TV show conveys what a place might feel like. That’s exactly what changes our perception.

When you immerse yourself in a TV series’ world over the course of several episodes, you perceive a setting differently than you would after watching a commercial. A hotel suddenly feels like a promise, a street like a meeting place, a garden like part of a fantasy. This makes the settings narratively meaningful.

How this can be clearly observed

• Places are recognized
• People search specifically for scenes
• Photos are meant to capture a certain atmosphere
• Keep your travel destinations in mind

When a Film Location becomes a Place of Longing

The White Lotus demonstrates just how powerful this mechanism can be. What lingers in the mind is far more than just a luxury resort. What stays with you is the shimmering heat, immaculate pools, lingering glances during dinner, perfectly arranged surfaces—and beneath it all, a tension that never quite fades. It is precisely this blend of beauty, luxury, and subtle menace that makes the settings so memorable.

This is where the difference between visibility and appeal becomes clear. People don’t travel to a place simply because it’s beautiful. They travel there because a story has imbued it with emotional significance. A location becomes an image in their mind, and from that image grows the desire to be there themselves.

How Atmosphere shapes a Place

Bridgerton takes a different approach. Here, the focus is on country estates, gardens, ballrooms, and a highly stylized past. The settings feel like part of a romanticized world. The emphasis is less on historical accuracy and more on a fantasy that is immediately accessible.

That is precisely what makes this example so revealing. The setting becomes appealing because of the feelings it evokes: elegance, escapism, and the promise of a fantastical world. As with The White Lotus, the appeal stems from the world that a setting conjures up in the mind.

When Attention becomes an Experience

For destinations, the real work begins at this point. Attracting attention is just the start. Impact is created when an on-site experience takes root that captures and builds upon the atmosphere conveyed in the story. This doesn’t require long lists of filming locations. What matters most are careful selection, narrative structure, and a unifying theme. A place becomes more appealing as soon as it becomes clear why that particular setting worked so well in a story.

A strong approach to set jetting, therefore, doesn’t start with a list of locations, but with a mood. This can give rise to curated walks, magazine articles, video formats, or short social media series. What remains crucial is that locations are experienced as part of a narrative.

But that is precisely where the trend’s limitations lie. Set-jetting thrives on images, and every staging shapes our perception. Sometimes it broadens our view of a place; other times, it narrows it. Atmosphere can quickly turn into a cliché, and longing into disappointment, if there is hardly any sense of the promised world.

That is why a beautiful location alone is not enough. Set jetting truly comes into its own when the visual image, the atmosphere, and reality come together.

What Communication can learn from this

Set-Jetting clearly demonstrates how much stories can alter our perception of landscapes. A place remains physically the same, yet it takes on a different character as soon as it becomes part of a narrative. This also presents a significant opportunity for communication: making places meaningful, rather than merely depicting them.

“As soon as a place becomes part of a good story, you start to see it differently. That’s exactly what makes location scouting so exciting: cities aren’t just visited; they’re remembered for a certain atmosphere.”

– Katrin Lenz, Trainee, Mashup Communications

The key is in the selection. If you want to use set jetting effectively, you must first establish the mood and then build a narrative around it.

Conclusion

In the past, locations were marketed. Today, they are told. Often, a single scene is enough to breathe new life into a setting and transform a backdrop into a place of longing.

The White Lotus and Bridgerton illustrate this in very different ways. One thrives on luxury, wanderlust, and subtle menace. The other on romance, idealization, and a world that deliberately feels like fantasy. Together, they reveal what makes set-jetting so effective: a place gains meaning through the stories we associate with it.

Mini FAQ

What exactly is Set-jetting?

Set-jetting refers to traveling to locations made famous by movies or TV shows. The focus is on the atmosphere associated with a particular setting.

Why is Set-jetting working so well right now?

Streaming, social media, and digital fan culture ensure that locations are quickly recognized, shared, and talked about. As a result, these stories directly influence travel plans.

What makes a good example of set jetting?

A powerful image evokes a distinct sense of life. It links a setting with an emotional response that lingers in the memory.

Is it enough for destinations to simply collect filming locations?

Impact is created when a filming location becomes an experience with its own story.