The phenomenon, in which travelers choose vacation destinations based on beloved, sometimes dark, TV series and films, has become one of the biggest trends in travel.
Have you found yourself dabbling with the idea of spending your next vacation at the White Lotus, a luxury resort famous for its obnoxious guests and regular murders?
Welcome to the world of “set-jetting,” in which the settings of popular movies and TVs shows like “The White Lotus” become pilgrimage sites for fans.
The White Lotus resorts are, of course, fictional. But the Four Seasons properties where the HBO series films are real. And after Seasons 1 and 2, which were set in Maui and Sicily, travelers flocked to those properties, and both reported a tenfold increase in bookings, according to Marc Speichert, the executive vice president and chief commercial officer of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. A representative said the company was not able to share booking numbers at this time for its resort in Koh Samui, Thailand, where the latest season was set.
How it’s pronounced
/sĕt jĕ-tiŋ/
The term set-jetting — a play on “jet set,” itself coined in the late 1940s — appears to date to a 2007 New York Post article describing the allure of trips inspired by films like “The Queen” (Brocket Hall, near London) and “Pan’s Labyrinth” (the Segovia region of Spain).
