EUROPE – From the post-apocalyptic bleakness of the television show The Last Of Us (2023) to the glamorous European destinations in the sprawling superspy James Bond movie franchise, one source of travel inspiration is taking on fresh appeal as pandemic restrictions recede – the fictional worlds of film and television.

“Set-jetting” – a play on “jet-setting” – will, travel analysts say, heavily influence the choice of destinations in 2023. With search traffic surging for the filming locations of the most popular streamed movies and television shows, entertainment is expected to overtake social media as the top source of inspiration for travellers, according to research from online travel companies like Expedia.

Destinations, tour operators and even film and television production companies are striving to offer more experiential ways for people to engage with their favourite fictional worlds. The government of Alberta, Canada, is even assembling a map of filming locations for The Last Of Us devotees to follow on a road trip.

But perhaps none is so immersive – and extravagant – as a new series of James Bond-themed private tours. They include a high-speed race down the River Thames in the same Sunseeker Superhawk 34 speedboat used in The World Is Not Enough (1999); a sail on a vintage yacht along the Cote d’Azur to the Casino de Monte-Carlo, featured in GoldenEye (1995); and a helicopter ride above the snow-capped Otztal Alps in Austria, where Spectre (2015) was filmed, accompanied by special effects veteran Chris Corbould.

People are as drawn to the places in the movies as they are to the plots, said Mr Tom Marchant, co-founder of Black Tomato, a travel company based in New York and London that was enlisted by Bond movie producer Eon Productions to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the first Bond film, Dr No (1962).

The goal of the tours, Mr Marchant said, was “unparalleled” immersion into the 007 world. The cost? From US$18,500 (S$24,600) a person for a five-night experience and from US$73,500 a person for the full 12-day experience.

Transported to the set

For many travellers, the high price of immersion is worth it. Inspired by the bucolic hills and lofty Alps in The Sound Of Music, the 1965 musical film starring Julie Andrews, New York entrepreneur Natalie McDonald was willing to pay about US$12,900 for Black Tomato to plan a cross-country railway trip in Switzerland in 2019 with her daughter, then 12.

“It quite literally felt like we were transported to the set,” she said, adding that memories of the journey lingered long after they returned home. “In so many ways, it extends the trip in our subconscious.”

That desire to be immersed in fictional worlds has also been noted by streaming companies such as Netflix, which is expanding its slate of interactive and much more affordable events. From Regency-era balls in cities like New York to uncovering a secret government laboratory at a Los Angeles event, attendees are given the opportunity to dress up and engage with plot lines of shows like Bridgerton (2021 to present), from US$59 a person; and Stranger Things (2016 to present), from US$39 for an adult.

“We want people to leave feeling like they really got to experience this ‘hero’ moment within a world or a story that they’ve loved,” said Mr Josh Simon, vice-president for consumer products at Netflix. About three million people have attended such immersive events in 17 cities and the company is planning more experiences linked to series like K-drama thriller Squid Game (2021 to present).

Among the most obvious winners of screen tourism in 2023 is the cliffside town of Taormina, Sicily, where the second season of the HBO show The White Lotus (2021 to present) takes place. One US$7,500 week-long White Lotus tour was so in demand that it sold out months in advance, according to Quiiky Travel.

Web traffic for the Four Seasons San Domenico Palace, the show’s location, surged more than 60 per cent after the first episodes aired. Bookings are set to be stronger in 2023 compared with 2022, the hotel said.

Bow ties and bubbly

As they wait to learn who will replace actor Daniel Craig, whose last appearance as James Bond was in No Time To Die (2021), Bond superfans willing to pay for one of Black Tomato’s 60 custom tours will have the opportunity to peruse Bond costumes and props, with tales from Bond archive director Meg Simmonds, in London.

For an adrenaline rush, they can learn fight sequences with Mr Lee Morrison, a stunt coordinator and former stunt double for Craig, also in London. Or they can listen to insider tales over a Parisian dinner with Carole Ashby, the British actress who appeared in Octopussy (1983) and A View To A Kill (1985).

They will also be able to indulge in the brands featured in the Bond world, including an Aston Martin workshop in Millbrook, England; and a private tour of the Bollinger vineyards – the spy’s champagne of choice – in the village of Ay, France.

Then, there is the tour’s most lavish offering – the 12-night journey called The Assignment, which begins in London and takes travellers on a five-location European tour ending in Venice. A narrative component is potentially in development, Mr Marchant said, so attendees can live out a Bond plot of their own.

For Bond fans on a budget, there are other options. Mr Rob Woodford, a former taxi driver in Britain who runs tours based on popular film and television series, is anticipating a busy year ahead. His James Bond-themed tours try to include an element from most of the 25 films in the series. In 2023, he is thinking of teaming up with a speedboat company to recreate the breathless scene from The World Is Not Enough.

“Wouldn’t that be a good idea – to recreate Pierce Brosnan shooting down the River Thames?” he said, adding: “You have to reinvent yourself a bit.” NYTIMES