Movies and TV shows made these destinations famous. What happens next?
Hollywood has always imbue a sense of wanderlust into its audiences , and foster this sense of aspirational change of location has been a central characteristic of film since the earliest daylight of the silver gray screen . Combine that with the crush of societal media stardom that occurs today , though , and a terminus can heave under the exercising weight . When a townspeople or region is spotlight , from Taormina , Sicily to Dubrovnik , Croatia , is the rush in tourism a last positive , or are the disadvantages too great to have the best ? How can an area react to — and recover from — such an tremendous overnight uptick in interest ?
time of year two ofThe White Lotus(which aired in 2022)chosetheSan Domenico Palace , a Four Seasons Hotel in Taormina , Sicily , as its setting and home base base . The hotel itself had only opened the yr prior , in time for the pandemic - affected 2021 summer time of year , but the show create an insatiable appetite in travelers to stay on , dine , or otherwise visit the exclusive sumptuousness enclave . “ I have seen citizenry crying because we do n’t let them in , ” says Juri Romano , bar coach at the San Domenico Palace . “ Like a married woman shout out at her married man , ' I say you to Holy Writ in November ! ' She was really squall . ”
The spot forced the property to adapt its policies to ensure in - business firm invitee get the level of servicing and available amenities they were expect . “ We jump to have our star sign invitee enquire what was going on , and so we close to external visitors , ” explains Alessandro Malfitana , sommelier atPrincipe Cerami , the hotel ’s Michelin - starred eating place .
HBO
But there ’s still desire for would - be visitors who ca n’t assure one of the hotel ’s desired Edgar Guest rooms but still want to visit for a meal or boozing . Malfitana ’s advice is simply to plan as far in the lead as possible . “ We manage if we have space , but we have no other choice , ” he says . “ We know this violent storm — this very good storm — was fare , so the message now has been , ‘ Please , book in advance to plug a topographic point . You have to , that ’s the berth . ’ ”
Managing expectations and infinite has essay difficult , but it ’s the fearfulness of the opposite , the rush falling off , that has the squad worry . “ My concern is what about next year , because they are going to move on ; that is the biggest thought I have , ” Romano says .
The hotel he works at is the epicenter of Taormina ’s tourism windfall , but he believes the convinced impact is being feel across the region and the whole of the island . “ I thinkSicilyis one of the most trending address this year , and so this is good for all of Sicily , not only for our property or not only for Taormina , ” Romano says . “ They did a good Book of Job with motion-picture photography , and it animate a lot of people . ”
How ‘The White Lotus’ Found Its Sicilian Hotel for Season 2
The HBO show’s producer says the show considered spots in Greece and the south of France before landing at the San Domenico Palace in Taormina.
Then , of class , there ’s Dubrovnik , which served as King ’s Landing inHBO’sGame of Thrones . But even before the Stark and Lannister - sick crowds came calling , its walled - in previous townspeople was a narrowing area . “ Dubrovnik has aproblem with special space , as everyone wants to see the walled city , and the tiny William Henry Gates are like bottleneck , ” say Ivan Vukovic , a well sleep with tour guideand fixer who began hostingGOT - centric spell of the region upon the show ’s introduction . “ We can not accommodate too many mass at the same clip . ”
A former mayor estimated that one-half of Dubrovnik ’s tourism ontogeny in the mid-2010swas fuel by the show , and this blood line en masse forced the government ’s mitt to enact policies curbing the rush . “ The Dubrovnik government did a great matter by limiting cruise ship to two per day , ” Vukovic says . The telephone number of in - and - out in - and - out passengers who contribute lilliputian or nothing to the local economy has decreased by thousands , and visitant are boost instead to drop nights in the region , buoying business with direct outlay rather than merely clogging the streets . The governance also limited the number of tourists earmark up onto the Dubrovnik City Walls .
“ It is a approval and a curse when cities like Dubrovnik gain such popularity , ” Vukovic says . “ But I should say it is never too much , as tourism is our main industry . It ’s hard to make it sustainable , but we are guide there . Dubrovnik is in a better place for tourism than it was before . ”Vukovic ’s recommendation is to deal visiting Dubrovnik during other seasons beyond the summer crush , and to get beyond the most noted sites for a superior experience . “ Do not forget to explore more outside of its mighty wall , ” he says . “ Use Dubrovnik as a hub to stay longer andexperience more thing , and inspect in the wintertime month , when we revel a mild Mediterranean clime . ”
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
This City Was Just Named the Most Overcrowded Tourist Spot in Europe
HBO hit show “Game of Thrones” is partially to blame.
While Dubrovnik took action by confine tourism and filtering out the types of tourists who contributed the least in condition of economical impact , other surface area have answer in different ways . Consider the case ofIceland , which received its own surge in popularity due also toGame of Thrones — along withVikings , a star turn in Will Ferrell’sEurovision Song Contest , and scores of other pop polish appearances — but was able to increase base and tourism capabilities to keep up with this rush . This includes an uptick in the number of flight and hotels , as well as the character and capacity of roads , rental companies , and fare providers .
Tourism to Iceland increased from 500,000 visitor in 2010 to 2.2 million in 2018 , roughly coincide with the fullGame of Thronesrun , a 340 % jumpin less than a tenner . However , instead of admonish visitors , Icelandair ’s free stopoverprogram promote traveller to get in on the sport for themselves , and a twine of Modern hotels opened in and around Reykjavik and in other locus across the country . Five hundred new hotel roomswithin a few years may not sound like much in a major metropolitan city , but for a land with fewer than 400,000 residents , such projection were able-bodied to make a hearty dent into shut up up demand . Iceland determine an chance to emerge as a touristry destination on the creation stage , and it welcome it with open limb , making lineal investment to not only deal with the surge , but to nourish it over the farseeing haul .
One of the first places to feel the full effects of a modern Hollywood - powered deluge of touristry wasKo Phi Phi , Thailand . The almost full enclosed Maya Bay on Ko Phi Phi Leh , hidden from the world thanks to the steep , notched rock sentry forming a ringing around it , was memorialise in the minds of backpackers the world over as the perfect tropical outflow inThe Beach , the Leonardo DiCaprio moving picture which debut in 2000 . The iconic locale also played a asterisk office in photographic film such asTomorrow Never Dies , released several class prior .
“ Thirty old age ago , there were just a few people here , my kin and I visited for the first time in a fisher ’s boat and we could see whales blowing water on the direction , ” say Watrapol Jantharo , a hotel and resort manipulator and former president of the Phi Phi Tourist Business Association . He describes how Maya Bay did n’t even have any medal Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , so they were move there from Krabi as props forThe Beach . “ After they finished making the film , they leave behind some palm trees where they moved them . ”
What was once a hard - to - reach hideaway became a sensation . Many thou of people would flock there for an afternoon , overpowering and degrade the area with catastrophic results , cruel caustic remark for a small stretch of the world beloved for its overpowering innate beauty .
While movement to restore Maya Bay began prior to the pandemic , Covid tourism gag law enabled more complete action . “ Tourists still came to visit Phi Phi even when Maya Bay was still come together until Covid-19 happened , and then Phi Phi was closed for almost three age , ” Jantharo says .
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Hat Noppharat Thara - Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park get to work restore the coral reefs , restricting touristry campaign , and charging admission charge fees for entrance to the green . Ironically , a great walkway built byThe Beach ’s product team now serve as the official entrance to the area . “ They ’d build the big Sir Henry Joseph Wood bench that could connect to the other bay laurel , Losama Bay , which is now the main entranceway , ” Jantharo says . “ I think of to opine positively : If the Hollywood team did n’t work up the bench , we would n’t recognise that it could be connected to the entrance from the back of Maya Bay . From that , the home park could throttle the Book of Numbers of the boats . ”
Jantharo see a lustrous future for Maya Bay thanks to the change and improvements that have been made . “ Last high time of year in November 2022 , I could see that tourists came back in full , and Phi Phi is crowded again , but not in the same tough way , ” he tell . “ There ’s a novel system to manage the great unwashed to visit not over one or two hour , and they can negociate and specify the boats record from everywhere . ” All it took was bringing Maya Bay to the verge of bionomic collapse , and the interposition of a three - year pandemic touristry closure , for the positive changes to take detainment .
Gigantic hordes of Hollywood - driven holidaymaker can be a great thing for a local economy and small business owner , it can also wreak mayhem on the environs as well as the quality of life for local , and detract from the very component which made a particular expanse , whether the walled city of Dubrovnik or the pristine beach of Maya Bay , so very captivating and in demand . It ’s never entirely black versus white-hot , or in force versus big , despite what the handwriting suppose .
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“ Every single year we observe and learn as trends in tourism variety tight , ” Vukovic tell . For a tour operator such as Vukovic , or for the employee of a thriving luxury repair such as San Domenico Palace , the more the merrier . “ We desire it will never end . ”
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