Following the trend of tours going to film and television sites, a Taiwanese travel agency is putting on a tour of the regions used to film the movie Brokeback Mountain. I say more power to them, but I do have to laugh a bit at the imagery.

Can you imagine the sight of a tour full of Taiwanese gays running around the rural town of  Fort Macleod? Sort of Monty Python-ish if you ask me.

“We’re marketing this package especially to gay and lesbian people mainly,” said company spokeswoman Linda Chow.
Gordon MacIvor, the economic development officer for the town of Fort Macleod, where much of the gay love story was filmed, said not every one in the town is excited about it becoming a destination for gay travellers. But he said any visitors to the town will be welcomed and not judged.
“We are in a modern society today, so there have been a lot of movies out on controversial issues and it’s your own personal judgment on it,” MacIvor told CBC Radio.  via CBC News

2006 is going to see a new wave  of set jetting, as it is expect that there will be a tremendous amount of people traveling to see the locations the movie “Da Vinci Code” was filmed in. So much travel is expected between the England and France, Eurostar is a major partner with “Da Vinci Code”.

Revealing its status as a global partner of the blockbuster film, due for release in May, Eurostar said it would work with the tourist industry in England, France and Scotland to promote travel between Britain and France.

“Eurostar will work with VisitBritain, Visit London, VisitScotland, as well as Maison de la France, to encourage tourists to take their own Da Vinci Code trail and follow in the footsteps of the books hero Robert Langdon, played by Tom Hanks in the film,” Eurostar said in a statement.

The Da Vinci Code delves into a series of high-profile murders behind a Vatican plot to conceal the true meaning of the Holy Grail. Much of the action takes place in London and Paris.

“The Da Vinci Code has had a major impact on the numbers choosing to travel with Eurostar to London and Paris and so it makes sense for us to be at the heart of the film release of 2006,” said Paul Charles, director of communications at Eurostar.  via USATODAY.com

The hotel industry is starting to understand the concept of set jetting, which is travel based around visiting movie sets while they are filming. Pirates of the Caribbean II is filming and Wyndham has gotten the jump on the market.

To celebrate the filming of Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean II” and “Pirates of the Caribbean III” on Grand Bahama Island, the all-inclusive Viva Wyndham Fortuna Beach offers special rates starting at $115 per person, per night, double, through 2006. The price includes a welcome cocktail; a pirate kit and an island map for kids 12 and under; pirate-themed activities; all meals and drinks; and taxes and tips. The rate for kids from 3 to 17 is $30 per day for room, board and activities. To book, call (800) WYNDHAM.

via Travel Weekly

From the Scotsman, “TOURIST locations are seeing up to a 30 per cent surge in bookings from “set-jetters”, who like to visit places depicted in films, it was revealed yesterday”.

For those not familiar with the term or experiencing “set jetting.” Traveling to the place of your favorite movie or a location of a great novel and experiencing it yourself while envisioning the scenes.

Set-jetters are people who fall in love with parts of the world, having seen them in movies and read about them in books and go there on holiday.”

He went on: “I think set- jetting may be part of a broader trend. We have more access to celebrities than ever before and that is reflected in a growing desire to visit the parts of the world they make famous.”

From the Emedia Wire, Destinations Predict Sales Boost from Set Jetters.

Recent reports in the rise in “set-jetting” may have been taken by some with a pinch of salt. But the phenomenon, where tourists include location visits from their favorite novel or film in their holiday plans, is being taken very seriously indeed within the travel industry, with hotels including the expected boost from this latest trend into their projected sales for 2006.

Other such popular destinations of “Set Jetting” that have seen rises in tourism and rise in business.

Hotels in Prague, anticipating the release of the new Terry Gilliam film “The Brothers Grimm”

Destinations such as Salzburg have traditionally prospered from the success of popular films like “The Sound of Music”, …

Rome and Venice, always popular cities in their own right, benefited from a surge of interest following their roles in “The Talented Mr. Ripley” starring Matt Damon and Jude Law.

The German capital is, among other destinations, the setting for John le Carré’s latest page turner turned blockbuster, “The Constant Gardener”, which hits the big screen in October.

Favorite spots last year included New Zealand, heavily featured in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Phi-Phi Island in Thailand, the setting of The Beach, and Kefalonia, the Greek Island made famous by Louis de Bernière’s novel Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, and its subsequent film version starring Nicholas Cage and Penelope Cruz.

Europeans tend to “set jet” the most and just look at the reported numbers:

· 27% of Britons say they have chosen holiday destinations as a result of reading about them in a novel or seeing them in a movie or TV series.
· 30% of people are more interested in visiting New Zealand as a direct result of watching the Lord of the Rings films.
· The Beach, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, has boosted Thailand’s popularity by 19%.
· 14% of Britons say they now plan to visit the California wine country having been inspired by the comedy Sideways.
· The Motorcycle Diaries, a film adaptation of Che Guevara’s journals written while traveling in South America, has put Bolivia on the tourist map for Britons.
· The Harry Potter movies have boosted tourism in the Northumberland area by 16%, while the film Calendar Girls has secured a 15% tourism rise for the Yorkshire Dales.
· The biggest UK set-jetters are those from the north-east of England, where 43% say their travel choice is influenced by movies and books.

NAWILILI, Hawaii (Reuters) — For international set-jetters Hawaii is the perfect location.

“Set Jetting” has become an extremely popular form of travel as it gives people the opportunity the combine fantasy with reality.

It gives them a chance to mix reality with illusion as they tour sites made famous in a string of movie classics — as well as such forgettable stinkers as “She Gods of Shark Reef.”

As the tourist industry enjoys a boom in bookings inspired by movie and TV locations — a phenomenon known as “set-jetting” — Hawaii is celluloid nirvana for besotted film fans.

Indiana Jones racing for cover, dinosaurs rampaging in Jurassic Park, Elvis Presley crooning to his bride — the Hawaiian island of Kauai has offered the ultimate exotic backdrop in more than 70 Hollywood movies.

Hawaii offers so many background settings to movies that allows for individuals to relay the scenes in their minds while enjoying the simply beautiful island.

With its tropical forests, volcanic landscapes, picture-postcard beaches and idyllic waterfalls, Kauai represents just about anywhere as an all-purpose cinematic backdrop.

The island stood in for Congo in “Outbreak”, for Australia in “The Thorn Birds”, for the Caribbean in “The Man With The Golden Gun” and Vietnam in “Uncommon Valor”.

The hit TV series “Lost” was shot on the Hawaiian island of Oahu and the state pulled in a record $161 million in production revenue last year, nearly twice 2003’s $84 million.