Honestly, how many of us wanted to visit Switzerland after DDLJ, or Spain after ZNMD? I know I did. That’s exactly how entertainment and tourism are tied together today.
Entertainment Tourism: Where Stories Meet Destinations
Travel isn’t just about ticking places off a bucket list anymore. It’s about stepping into the stories and sounds we’ve already fallen in love with whether it’s on a big screen or a concert stage.
Bollywood has done this for years:
- Gerua made Iceland’s landscapes look straight out of a dream.
- Race brought South Africa into the spotlight.
- And the USA? From Kal Ho Naa Ho’s New York skyline, to Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna’s Manhattan streets, to My Name is Khan in San Francisco movies made these cities feel familiar even before we visited.
Music takes it even further:
- Arijit Singh, Shreya Ghoshal, A.R. Rahman, Diljit Dosanjh… they’re not just performing, they’re pulling Indian fans to arenas across London, Toronto, Melbourne, Dubai. People don’t just attend the show they plan whole trips around it.
- And we’ve had global icons performing in India too Coldplay, Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran people travelled across states just to be part of it.
- Then there’s Sunburn Goa. For many, it’s not just a festival. It’s a reason to pack bags, book flights, and live that mix of beaches + beats + culture.
Hollywood isn’t far behind either:
- The Dark Knight Rises at Jodhpur’s Mehrangarh Fort.
- Slumdog Millionaire capturing Mumbai’s chaos and charm.
- Eat Pray Love showing Delhi and Pataudi in a new light.
- The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel turning Jaipur & Udaipur into global hotspots.
- Even Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You (Sapphire version) filmed in India became part of this crossover.
And here’s the real takeaway: Entertainment and tourism fuel each other. A single movie scene or concert can inspire thousands of travel dreams.
The ripple effect?
- Tourism boards now invite film crews because one blockbuster can transform a destination.
- Music festivals spin entire travel economies hotels, flights, restaurants, shops, all buzzing.
- Hotels are experimenting with film-inspired stays and concert packages.
The UNWTO even says up to 40% of tourists pick destinations after seeing them on screen. That’s how powerful stories are.
Bottom line: Movies don’t just sell tickets, they sell places. Music doesn’t just fill arenas, it fills destinations.
And for travellers like us, it’s a chance to live out those stories whether it’s standing where our favorite scene was shot, or dancing to our favorite singer on foreign soil.
Tell me would you travel just because of a movie or a concert?