Ep 249: Destinations on Screen: The Top 8 TV + Movie Tourism Talking Points in South East Asia & Asia Pacific

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17 Apr 2025 • 45m08s

What connects CNN, Coldplay, Bollywood, The White Lotus, Bluey, Minecraft and K-dramas? All are linked to the burgeoning trend of representing tourism destinations in TV series, movies, videos, documentaries and computer games.

This week, Gary and Hannah assess the top 8 TV and Movie Tourism talking points in ASEAN, Asia Pacific and beyond. The global journey takes us from Jakarta, Koh Samui and Singapore to Seoul, Jeju Island and Okinawa - and beyond to the UK, New Zealand and Australia. En route, we discuss the influence of micro-dramas, Ne Zha 2 and Black Myth: Wuking on domestic tourism in China. We look at the darker side of tourism on screen, including No More Bets, The Beach, Iseltwald and the filming issues around The Expats in Hong Kong.

Plus we tap into the changing role of tourism boards and travel suppliers in destination placement, assess the surging growth of on-location cookery shows, and explore how Netflix is financing local TV productions to promote culture, heritage and tourism in Indonesia and South Korea for domestic and regional audiences.

« Next Episode Ep 250: Macau's Ongoing Quest to Diversify its Casino Tourism Economy, with Glenn McCartney, University of Macau Previous Episode » Ep 248: China, South East Asia & Asia Pacific Confront the Turmoil of Trump's Tariffs - Part 2

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Ep 249: Destinations on Screen: The Top 8 TV + Movie Tourism Talking Points in South East Asia & Asia Pacific

About This Episode

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

Ep 300: Thailand & Cambodia Pursue Peace, Myanmar Nears ASEAN Return & Embodied AI Tourism in Malaysia: Start the Week in The South East Asia - Part 1

Ep 301: Vietnam's Long Thanh Challenges, Thailand's China Tourism Crisis & Fuel Surcharges Go Off-the-Chart in the Philippines: Start the Week with The South East Asia Travel Show - Part 2

Hannah Pearson

Gary Bowerman