BATH – Standing opposite a mansion in the elegant English city of Bath, Ms Tegan Shirdon marvelled at the window from where Penelope Featherington, one of the heroines of Bridgerton (2020 to present), would eye her love interest Colin Bridgerton in the hit show.

A huge fan of the Netflix series, which has racked up 300 million views, the 20-year-old Australian student was one of around 30 tourists to descend on the south-western city recently.

They had come from countries including the Netherlands, Canada, Spain and Japan to admire the setting for the early 19th-century romance drama.

Film student Ruby Maidment, their guide for the day, dished out historical anecdotes alongside snippets about Bridgerton shoots.

She pointed to a Marks & Spencer’s supermarket sign that made it on screen after production editors missed it, while noting the handsome fees paid to locals to stay indoors during filming.

“A lot of people when thinking about where to go for holidays, they’ll put their favourite show on and go, ‘Oh, actually, why don’t we check out there?’” she said.

This trend has a name: so-called set-jetting. It has emerged in recent years with the rise of streaming platforms and has boomed further since the coronavirus pandemic.

Movies and television series have become the leading source of travel inspiration, ahead of social networks, according to online travel group Expedia.

It found that 39 per cent of tourists surveyed reported they had chosen a destination after seeing it featured on screen.

‘Motivator for travel’

Set-jetting is “becoming a significant driver and motivator for travel”, said Mr Robin Johnson of the VisitBritain tourism authority.

“I think particularly for younger audiences – Gen Z, millennials – who are growing up on streaming,” he added.

“It really makes sense for us in Britain to capitalise on (it) because there is no bigger or better platform to promote a destination than a high-end film or TV series. Money can’t buy that sort of exposure.”

Seven out of 10 international tourists have visited at least one film and TV location during their stay in the United Kingdom in the last 10 years, according to VisitBritain. Over 90 per cent of potential visitors would be eager to do so in the future, it noted.

“There is not really much film back home where I am, so if I want to see any set of a TV show, I need to come on a 17-hour flight on the other side of the world,” said Ms Shirdon, a journalism student.

Enduring franchises such as James Bond (1962 to 2021) and Harry Potter (2001 to 2011) continue to attract millions of visitors. But more recent productions, such as Game Of Thrones (2011 to 2019) in Northern Ireland, Outlander (2014 to present) in Scotland and, more recently, The Crown (2016 to 2023) as well as Bridgerton in England, are sustaining the momentum.

To further boost this “powerful pull”, VisitBritain and the British Film Commission, the industry’s support agency, plan to launch a joint promotional campaign in 2025. Called “Starring Great Britain”, it is aimed at attracting more travellers as well as new productions.

‘Transformed by a series’

The campaign will place filming locations and associated visitor experiences “centre stage, telling the story of Britain’s regional diversity to drive visits and spend across the regions”, according to the agencies.

“When you look at what has happened in the UK over the last 10 years, the UK is now perceived as one of the biggest places in the world to make film and television,” said Mr Adrian Wootton, head of the British Film Commission.

He noted the country had netted £3.1 billion (S$5.33 billion) of foreign investment as a result.

The key to this success? A combination of breathtaking scenery, English-speaking talent, big investment in studios and other film-making hubs, as well as generous tax reliefs, he said.

“Places like Northern Ireland have been transformed by a series... nobody would have considered it a tourist destination” before Game Of Thrones and its recent prequel House Of The Dragon (2022 to present), Mr Wootton added.

By the end of 2023, Bridgerton had already generated £5 million for the local economy, thanks to domestic and international visitors – and that was before a popular third season aired in 2024.

“There’s definitely so much history in the UK that you don’t get as much in Canada, so we love to visit and learn all about the history,” said Canadian transplant to the UK, Ms Emily Maniquet, during a visit to Bath.

“I love British television,” she added, noting she had already visited Harry Potter filming locations during a trip to Edinburgh. AFP