Why You Should Try "Set-Jetting" In 2019 If You're Looking For A Unique Travel Experience
While nothing will ever truly cure your wanderlust — except for more traveling, of course — trying a travel trend you haven't before just might scratch that itch a little better than your last trip did. Traveling to TV and movie locations, aka "set-jetting," is the travel trend that you absolutely need to try in 2019.
I know you know exactly what I'm talking about. Didn't watching The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 make you want to book the next flight to Santorini? (It definitely did for me!) And wouldn't you want to run through the greenest fields in New Zealand to reenact some of your favorite scenes from the Lord of the Rings franchise? Or, if you're a Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) fanatic like myself, who hasn't fantasized about recreating a few of the country club moments from High School Musical 2 at the beautiful Entrada at Snow Canyon Country Club in Utah?
If you've been searching for some travel #inspo to plan your next trip this year, turn to some of your favorite movies and TV shows to see if there's a spot you can head to to live out the fantasies from the films.
What are some popular places people go to set-jet?
Bloomberg notes that tourism to Singapore spiked after Crazy Rich Asians made its debut. In addition, according to Quartzy, Croatia has seen a huge bump in tourism due to the popularity of Game Of Thrones and the release of Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again. GOT fans know that the Kings Landing scenes were primarily filmed in Dubrovnik, according to King'sLandingDubrovnik.com, while Mamma Mia was shot on the quaint island of Vis (even though the storyline takes place in Greece).
As someone who has been to Vis, yes, there are actually a ton of tourists who go to the island to discover all of their favorite sets from the movie. (And yes, it really is as beautiful IRL as you would think it would be.)
How can you take part in the set-jetting trend?
Websites like IMDb offer the different shooting locations of movies and TV shows, so if you see a place in a movie that you particularly love, try looking it up there.
Make sure to do your research on different tours and excursions that are offered in that city or country that relate to the movie or TV show you're visiting for. For example, you can go on Sex and the City and Gossip Girl tours in New York City, and there are definitely more than a handful of Harry Potter tours in London.
Other popular filming destinations include the Tunisian Desert, which was used as the set for the planet Tatooine in Star Wars Episode 1, according to TunisiaOnline.com; Monterey, California, which is where Big Little Lies takes place; and Angkor Wat in Cambodia, which was one of the many ancient sites that Lara Croft explored in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.
Why is set-jetting the travel trend you should take advantage of this year?
I'm the kind of person who loves to travel with a frame of reference. I enjoy being able to plan my trip around a certain itinerary, or at least have an idea of what I want to see when I get there. Set-jetting is the perfect trend to help with travel planning.
If you're already a major fan of a show and its set has some recognizable landmarks, it would be pretty cool to see them IRL. So if you're trying to figure out where to travel to next, do the research and find out where some of your favorite shows and movies were filmed. You just might have an epic adventure of your own.
