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Let's make 2025 your biggest travel year yet with one simple goal: tick more places off your travel bucket list than ever before...
Calling all movie buffs, tv aficionados or music video lovers – it’s time to visit your favourite on screen destination! Pop culture has had a huge impact on travel and tourism all around the globe, influencing where we travel and the sites we see. There’s even a term for someone who travels to a place just because they’ve seen it in a film, tv show or music video – a ‘set-jetter’.
From Shakespeare to K-pop and everything in between, here are 7 places to ‘set-jet’ to for your pop culture fix.
1. Stratford-upon-Avon
It’s been more than 450 years since the birth of William Shakespeare, yet his influence on pop culture continues today. Over 800,000 people visit his childhood homes in Stratford-upon-Avon each year, proving our love for Shakespeare will never die. To go or not to go - that is the question.
GETTING THERE
2. Alnwick Castle
What kind of muggle are you if you don’t want to visit the famous Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? The magic of Harry Potter continues to draw people to Alnwick Castle in the United Kingdom despite the castle only appearing in the first two films. But don’t worry – there is little chance of you seeing he who will not be named.
GETTING THERE
3. Matamata
Not all those who wander are lost, and as far as pop-culture pilgrimages go, a journey to Middle-earth is a quest that many a brave traveller will take. The tourism impact of The Lord of the Rings films has been huge and continues to this day - around 18% of all visitors to New Zealand say it is the reason they came to the country. Make like Frodo and travel to Matamata in New Zealand to explore Hobbiton, the movie set home of the hobbits.
GETTING THERE
4. Seoul
Music and dance have long been at the heart of pop culture, but none have taken the world by storm quite like PSY’s Gangnam Style did in 2012. The catchy, high energy music video became the most watched YouTube video of all time and propelled K-Pop and the Gangnam District onto the world stage. The song is credited with attracting record numbers of tourists to South Korean and the modern, wealthy district of Gangnam in Seoul.
GETTING THERE
5. Los Angeles
There is no other city in the world as synonymous with pop culture as Los Angeles. The Hollywood sign, Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, the Walk of Fame… the list goes on. See them all on one of the many tours exploring Los Angeles. Want to explore more on-screen locations? Don't miss the The Warner Bros. Studio Tour – here you can explore the film sets, learn about how movies are made and see the stars.
GETTING THERE
6. Tokyo
Japan is the birthplace of some of the most famous and beloved icons of pop culture – Godzilla, Pokemon, Super Mario, Hello Kitty and the many creations of Studio Ghibli. In Tokyo alone, you can visit Hello Kitty World, five Pokemon Centres, the Ghibli Museum, Totoro’s Forest, various Godzilla statures (and one life size head atop a skyscraper), as well as the trend-setting suburb of Harajuku.
GETTING THERE
7. Australia
Closer to home, the set-jetter sites in Australia are fairly diverse (and that’s before we even look at any of the country’s ‘big’ attractions). In fact, in a recent Deloitte Economics publication, it was reported that 230,000 travellers came to Australia because of movies and tv shows depicting Australia. Top of the pop culture experiences for many British visitors was a visit to Ramsay Street, home of the long running tv series Neighbours. A selfie with one of the actors was the cherry on top.
For American visitors however, Australia Zoo provides a more fair dinkum experience to get up close and personal with a pop culture icon or two – the Irwins or a crocodile! Crikey! But for young parents, nothing can beat seeing the locations from the much-loved children’s TV show, Bluey, in real life. It won’t even cost any dollar bucks, mate. When a small cottage in the Brisbane suburb of Paddington was transformed into Bluey’s home for three weeks as part of an Airbnb promotion, the huge number of visitors meant that security and traffic controllers were required around the clock. From iconic Brisbane locations like South Bank, New Farm Park and The Glasshouse Mountains to local favourites like Ashgrove library, the nearby Chinese restaurant and the Chipmunks play centre, you can see all your favourite Bluey locations in Brisbane. Just watch out for the bin chickens!
Most recently, the 2022 rom-com, Ticket to Paradise, staring Julia Roberts and George Clooney showcased some of Queensland's best assets. Filming for the popular movie took place across Brisbane, the Gold Coast and The Whitsundays. Hamilton Island and qualia resort feature prominently in the movie sparking desire for a tropical Queensland holiday.
GETTING THERE
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