Picture this: you are halfway through an episode of The White Lotus, the camera pans slowly across a sun-drenched bay, and something inside you shifts. You no longer just want to watch — you want to be there. That feeling has a name in 2026, and it is called set-jetting.
Set-jetting is the travel trend of planning your next trip around a destination you first fell in love with on screen. It is not new, exactly — people have been booking trips to Notting Hill and the Greek islands of Mamma Mia for decades. But what is new is the scale. According to Expedia’s 2026 Set-Jetting Forecast, 81% of Gen Z and Millennial travelers now plan their vacations based on locations featured in film and television. Screen-inspired travel is now projected to become a potential $8 billion industry in the United States alone.
For island lovers, this trend is especially exciting. Some of the most cinematic, talked-about productions in recent memory have been set on islands — and those islands are now seeing record visitor interest. This guide breaks down everything you need to know about island set-jetting, which islands are trending, and how to plan a trip that goes beyond the obvious tourist trail.
What Is Island Set-Jetting?
Set-jetting refers to traveling to a real-world destination because you discovered it through a film, TV series, or streaming show. The term was coined and popularized by Expedia, which first identified the pattern in 2022 when data showed a spike in searches for Hawaii after The White Lotus Season 1 aired, and for Paris after Emily in Paris.
Island set-jetting takes this a step further — it focuses specifically on island destinations that have been spotlighted on screen. Islands photograph spectacularly, which makes them ideal backdrops for prestige TV and film. They offer isolation, beauty, and a sense of escapism that mirrors what audiences crave when they sit down to watch. The result is a powerful feedback loop: viewers watch, they want to visit, and then they book.
The numbers behind this phenomenon are hard to ignore. After The White Lotus Season 2 aired, Google searches for the phrase “White Lotus hotel” spiked more than 500%, and the sleepy Sicilian town of Taormina became one of Italy’s most sought-after destinations almost overnight. When Season 3 moved to Koh Samui in Thailand, tourism boards across Southeast Asia braced for the same wave.
If you have ever felt the urge to visit a place you saw on a screen, you are already a set-jetter. The question is where to go next.
Why Islands Make the Best Set-Jetting Destinations
Not all set-jetting destinations are created equal, and islands tend to top the list for several reasons.
They Are Visually Unmistakable
Islands have a visual language that is hard to replicate on a mainland. Cliff-top panoramas, crystal-clear water, lush jungle behind a white sand beach — these images lodge themselves in the memory instantly. When a show uses an island as its backdrop, the location almost becomes a character in its own right. Viewers do not just notice it; they remember it.
They Feel Like a Contained Experience
Part of what makes island set-jetting so satisfying is that an island has edges. You can explore it fully, trace the exact routes of the characters you watched, and feel a genuine sense of having done the place. That sense of completion is much harder to achieve in a vast city or a sprawling countryside destination.
The Contrast Between Screen and Reality Is Smaller
Film crews are drawn to islands because they are genuinely beautiful — and unlike some heavily dressed sets, island locations tend to look exactly as good in person as they do on camera. The disappointment gap that sometimes plagues set-jetting in urban locations largely disappears when the destination is a real tropical island.
This is why island set-jetting pairs so well with the broader responsible island travel movement — when done thoughtfully, a set-jetting trip can introduce travelers to destinations they genuinely connect with, leading to more meaningful and longer stays rather than quick tick-box tourism.
The Most Iconic Island Set-Jetting Destinations for 2026
Here are the island destinations generating the most set-jetting interest right now, and the productions that put them on the map.
Maui, Hawaii — The White Lotus Season 1
The show that arguably launched the modern set-jetting era, The White Lotus Season 1, was filmed almost entirely at the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea. Released during a period when international travel had been severely restricted, it sent audiences into a full-scale obsession with the island’s golden beaches, volcanic cliffs, and turquoise water. Expedia reported a 386% increase in holiday enquiries for Hawaii following the season’s premiere.
Maui offers far more than the resort itself. Travelers can hike the volcanic landscapes of Haleakala, explore the Road to Hana, and visit the historic town of Lahaina. The island also connects naturally to a dark-sky noctourism experience, with some of the clearest stargazing in the Pacific found at higher elevations.
Sicily, Italy — The White Lotus Season 2
Sicily may be the Mediterranean’s largest island, but it spent decades in the shadow of mainland Italy on traveler itineraries. The White Lotus Season 2 changed everything. Filming centered on the clifftop San Domenico Palace in Taormina — a former 14th-century Dominican convent converted into a Four Seasons hotel — and extended to Noto, Cefalù, and Palermo. After the season aired, Expedia reported a 300% spike in searches for Taormina alone.
Beyond the show, Sicily rewards deeply curious travelers. Ancient Greek temples, Baroque UNESCO heritage towns, active volcanoes, and an extraordinary cuisine shaped by centuries of Norman, Arab, and Greek influence make it one of the richest island destinations in the world.
Koh Samui, Thailand — The White Lotus Season 3
The most recent chapter of the White Lotus effect unfolded on Koh Samui, Thailand’s second-largest island. Season 3 filmed primarily at the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui, with additional scenes shot at the Anantara Lawana Koh Samui, Rosewood Phuket, and locations across the Ang Thong National Marine Park. The island’s hillside villas, private pools overlooking the Gulf of Thailand, and lush jungle interiors created images that have already become synonymous with luxury island travel in 2026.
Koh Samui is particularly well-suited to travelers who want to combine the set-jetting experience with deeper cultural exploration. Buddhist temples, night markets, traditional Thai massage schools, and ferry connections to the wilder Koh Phangan and Koh Tao all sit within easy reach.
Skopelos, Greece — Mamma Mia
Long before The White Lotus, it was Mamma Mia that showed the world what a Greek island could look like on screen. The 2008 film and its sequel were largely shot on Skopelos and Skiathos in the Sporades — relatively quiet islands even today compared to the more famous Santorini and Mykonos. The chapel of Agios Ioannis sto Kastri, perched dramatically on a rocky outcrop, became one of the most photographed spots in Greece almost overnight and remains a pilgrimage site for fans.
How to Plan Your Island Set-Jetting Trip
Set-jetting well requires a bit more thought than a standard beach holiday. Here is how to get the most out of your island screen-inspired adventure.
Go Beyond the Main Filming Location
Production crews almost always use multiple locations across an island, many of which are quieter and less well-known than the headline resort or landmark. For Koh Samui, the Ang Thong National Marine Park — an archipelago of 42 islands used in the Season 3 arrival scene — is far more dramatic than the resort pool. For Sicily, the baroque streets of Noto and the beach town of Cefalù offer a richer experience than Taormina alone.
Seeking out secondary locations is also a smart way to sidestep the crowds that inevitably build up around the most recognizable spots.
Time Your Visit Strategically
Set-jetting destinations typically experience a surge in bookings in the months immediately following a show’s release. If you can plan a visit slightly ahead of or well after that surge — either before the season airs or a year or two after the initial wave — you will encounter fewer crowds, better prices, and a more authentic experience.
This also connects to the broader idea of traveling responsibly in the face of overtourism. Popular set-jetting islands can become genuinely overwhelmed by sudden visitor surges, and being a thoughtful traveler means considering the impact your timing has on local communities.
Mix the Cinematic with the Local
The best set-jetting trips balance the screen-inspired experience with genuine local immersion. Visit the filming location by all means, but then eat where locals eat, shop at the morning market, take a cooking class, or hire a local guide who can show you the parts of the island that never made it onto camera — and are often far more interesting.
Consider a Slower Stay
Islands reward travelers who slow down. Rather than racing between iconic spots for photos, consider extending your stay and settling into island rhythm. This connects directly to the micro-retirement and slow travel approach that is reshaping how people think about island escapes. A week on Koh Samui spent cooking, swimming, and exploring will leave a far deeper impression than a 48-hour sprint through the White Lotus locations.
What Is Coming Next in Island Set-Jetting
The set-jetting calendar for the next year or two is already generating significant travel interest among those paying attention to upcoming productions.
The White Lotus Season 4 — France
Production on Season 4 of The White Lotus is slated to begin in 2026, with strong industry speculation pointing toward the French Riviera — in particular, the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat near Cannes. While technically a peninsula rather than a classic island destination, the Riviera coastline and the nearby islands of Île Sainte-Marguerite and Porquerolles are expected to feature. Travel advisors are already reporting a surge in interest in Provence and the South of France — before a single frame has been filmed.
Palawan, Philippines — The Last Resort
The crystalline lagoons of Palawan in the Philippines are expected to appear in the upcoming production of The Last Resort, a move that travel analysts suggest could catapult this already stunning island destination into global consciousness. Palawan has long been considered one of the world’s most beautiful islands and has appeared on countless “best beaches” lists, but mainstream international tourism remains relatively limited. A major screen appearance could change that dramatically.
Hawaii — The Live-Action Moana
The live-action adaptation of Moana, scheduled for release in 2026 and filmed largely in Hawaii, is already generating significant interest in Polynesian island destinations. Hawaii and Samoa are both expected to see increased travel interest, and for islands like Oahu and Maui — which you can explore further in our guide to trending hidden island paradises in 2026 — the timing could amplify an already growing wave of visitor demand.
Island Set-Jetting and Responsible Travel
It would be easy to treat set-jetting purely as a bucket-list exercise — show up at the filming location, take the photo, move on. But the most meaningful version of this trend is something more than that.
When you travel to an island because a show gave you a genuine connection to it, you arrive differently. You are curious about the culture, invested in the place, and more likely to stay longer and spend locally. That is precisely the kind of tourism that sustains island communities rather than overwhelming them.
The Expedia Unpack ’26 report notes that 53% of global travelers now report increased interest in screen-inspired trips — but the travelers doing it best are those who use the screen as a starting point, not an itinerary. They go deeper, stay longer, and leave the destination better than they found it.
Island set-jetting at its best is not about recreating a scene. It is about letting a story open a door to a place you might never have found otherwise — and then making that place your own.
Ready to Start Your Island Set-Jetting Adventure?
The connection between storytelling and travel is as old as both of them. What has changed is the scale — and the speed at which a single episode can turn a quiet Sicilian hilltop or a Thai island bay into a global destination. In 2026, that power belongs to you as a traveler. The islands are real. The beauty you saw on screen is real. All that remains is to book the trip.
Whether you start with the White Lotus beaches of Koh Samui, the baroque streets of Sicily, or the sun-soaked shores of Maui, you will find that the island always has more to offer than the camera ever captured.
Looking for more island travel inspiration? Explore our guides on the best island honeymoon destinations for 2026 and the best islands for digital nomads and slow living to plan your next escape.