Set jetting growing as fans visit sites of movies, TV shows and books

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Set jetting is a growing trend where people travel to the locations of their favorite movies, TV shows or books.

The trend has exploded in recent years with people covering the globe to see destinations previously featured on the big screen or TV.

"Everyone dreams of waking up in the middle of a film, you know, whether it's the glamour of James Bond or the magic of Harry Potter, and so travelers these days are doing just that. They're booking trips to destinations where their favorite TV shows and movies were filmed," Colleen Clark with Jetsetter.com said.

There are other reasons that explain the appeal of movie travel tourism.

"Primarily it's the attractiveness of the land itself. One might think of the hillscapes in 'Lord of the Rings' in the south island of New Zealand. One might think of the blue mountains of the 'Man of Snowy River' in Australia," film-induced tourism researcher Dr. Roger Riley explained.

Set jetting can get expensive, especially with exotic locations. But Clark said there are many options, from self-led tours to guided groups.

"Self-led is great because you can kind of immerse yourself in the experience and you can see the destinations that are important to you, but if you really want the sort of insider experiences you should really go with a company that can hook you up with these sort of once in a lifetime opportunities," Clark said.