A curious mix of tourism executives, filmmakers, marketers and screen industry figures gathered inside Sydney’s Palangi Gallery last Thursday evening, for a highly curated pop-up designed to spark a conversation that has been gaining momentum globally: the powerful relationship between film and travel.
Hosted by B&T, Travel Weekly and Irresistible Magazine – three mastheads that sit across the marketing, travel and cultural storytelling worlds – the event brought together communities that don’t often find themselves in the same room but arguably should be. The aim was simple: start connecting the dots between the people who create screen content and the destinations eager to host it.
The gathering also served as an early signal of what’s to come at Cairns Crocodiles, where the new Film & Screen track will place filmmakers, financiers, agencies, brands, cinemas, networks and platforms side-by-side in a way that mirrors how the industry increasingly operates in reality. At the same time, the broader Crocodiles program carries a strong travel lens, with an entire Travel Marketing track dedicated to tourism – a natural fit for Misfits Media, which publishes Travel Weekly, Australia’s leading travel trade magazine.
If the evening proved anything, it’s that the overlap between these sectors is not theoretical – it’s practical, commercial and growing fast.
Among the short talks on the night was Set Jetters co-founder Viv Smith, whose insights and data offered a compelling reminder that audiences don’t just watch destinations – they travel to them. The company tracks the growing global phenomenon of travellers seeking out filming locations, and Smith’s presentation revealed just how measurable the so-called “screen tourism effect” has become. Expect to hear more from Set Jetters when they appear in Cairns.
Film locations going viral
The evidence is hard to ignore. The Heated Rivalry phenomenon, for example, has reportedly driven a significant uptick in visitor numbers across parts of Canada after the viral mini-series captured global attention. Long before that, The Lord of the Rings transformed New Zealand’s tourism landscape, while Emily in Paris has delivered an ongoing stream of visitors keen to step into the show’s romanticised version of the French capital.
Hawaii offers perhaps the longest running case study – from the Elvis era through to the recent White Lotus boom, each wave of screen exposure bringing a new generation of travellers eager to experience the locations for themselves.
And that, ultimately, is the point. Screen content creates emotional connection and cultural resonance in ways that traditional destination marketing rarely can. When audiences fall in love with a place through a story, the desire to visit often follows.
Tourism boards know this. Many have significant budgets earmarked for screen collaborations and branded storytelling, yet filmmakers and production companies often struggle to access those opportunities or even know where to start the conversation. Likewise, tourism organisations frequently say they would welcome deeper relationships with the creative industries but rarely have the forum to make those connections.
Events like the Palangi Gallery gathering are designed to change that.
The gallery itself – generously hosted by filmmaker and academic Dr Amin Palangi – provided an intimate backdrop for what was deliberately kept small and conversational. Over cheese and wine, discussions ranged from financing models and location incentives to the future of brand integration in screen storytelling.
There were also more than a few industry anecdotes shared. One question circulating in the room concerned the third season of The White Lotus – and the little-known fact that the show’s latest instalment was originally planned for a different location before ultimately landing in Thailand. That kind of decision – where a production chooses to film — can have major economic ripple effects for destinations.
Which is exactly why tourism boards are paying close attention.
The Palangi event was never meant to be a large conference or formal industry panel. Instead, it was an early gathering — a signal to both sectors that a new conversation is underway. If Cairns Crocodiles is designed to bring the worlds of marketing, media and creativity together, the Film & Screen track aims to extend that ambition even further.
Part of that future involves deliberately placing tourism organisations and screen creators into the same ecosystem.
Because if the past few decades of global cinema and television have shown anything, it’s that when storytelling and place align, the results can travel far beyond the screen.
