What is ‘set jetting’? And why some say there’s ‘untapped potential’
There remains “untapped potential” in screen tourism, according to some who work in the industry.
Hit shows such as Bridgerton, Game Of Thrones and Gavin & Stacey have attracted visitors to some of the locations used to film the series.
But some say that more could be done to reap the rewards of the trend of visiting TV and film locations, sometimes known as “set jetting”.
Glenda Kenyon, 71, owns one of the houses used to film Gavin & Stacey, on Trinity Street in Barry Island.
Ms Kenyon told Sky News that since opening up her home to location tours, she had welcomed 28,398 visitors through her door over the years.
“I’ve had people from Hawaii, Africa, India, Cardiff, London, and a lot more places than that,” she said.
“Honest to god, I love it, I love the show. If I didn’t love the show, I wouldn’t be doing this.”
Ruth Jones (left) and Joanna Page during filming for Gavin & Stacey. Pic: PA
Ms Kenyon’s home features cast photos and merchandise signed by cast members
Having lived in Barry for 35 years, Ms Kenyon says she has seen a lot of change in the town and that she expects there will be “a lot more coaches” visiting after the recent finale.
“In the beginning, when they first started, they don’t tell you they’re going to come back and do another one,” she said.
“I will miss it, but I know I’ve still got the tours and that’s good for me.”
The latest official statistics from the British Film Institute show that inbound tourists spend an estimated £892m annually in film-related screen tourism in the UK.
A total of 19% of the UK domestic holiday market reported that visiting locations featured in TV, film or literature was an experience they would like to do during a holiday or short break in the country, according to Welsh government research.
Visitors take part in a tour of Northern Ireland locations. Pic: Game Of Thrones Tours
‘Deeply undeveloped’
Robert Dowling, 51, worked as a national tour guide in Ireland before he set up the Game Of Thrones Tours company in late 2012 to showcase some of the series’ locations in Northern Ireland.
Mr Dowling told Sky News he believed there was “untapped potential” in screen tourism.
“Screen tourism remains deeply undeveloped…it’s kind of a new field now, it’s quite exciting,” he said.
“I suspect Game Of Thrones will still be a thing 10 or 20 years from now, and therefore we can invest with confidence that there will be demand.
“That’s my argument for why we should develop screen tourism, because I think it has an enduring appeal.”
Pic: Game Of Thrones Tours
More than a decade since the series first aired, he said the tours can be “emotional” and “moving” as visitors embrace the nostalgia, with some even deciding to get engaged at the featured locations.
“My motive for it was really to show people the beauty of County Down and County Antrim in Northern Ireland,” he said.
“By the time season two came out [in 2012] I said ‘Right, this is going to be a thing, this is just awesome’, because those two seasons are very big on Northern Ireland locations”.
With a total of eight seasons and a number of spin-off series comes a whole host of locations to explore and share with fans.
“We’ve tweaked the itinerary as we went through all eight seasons of Game Of Thrones to include new stuff, and we’re going to have to do that again in 2025,” he added.
“It’s great that there’s more to come with A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms, so we’ve at least three more years of footage and locations to get up on screen to strengthen that relationship between the franchise and Northern Ireland.”
Pic: Game Of Thrones Tours
‘Kept on attracting visitors’
Fred Mawer, 59, has lived in Bath for 20 years and has been working as a tour guide for the last six.
In addition to his usual tours of the city, he has created a bespoke tour of locations featured in Netflix series Bridgerton.
He told Sky News the show had proved “incredibly popular” and had brought some people to Bath “who wouldn’t necessarily have done the tours otherwise”.
He was asked to do a Bridgerton tour in 2021 for the annual Bath Festival and since then he has continued the tours outside of the festival too.
“It’s kept on going, I mean it really does have longevity because obviously there have been more seasons of Bridgerton released,” he said.
“Season one, with an enormous amount of filming in Bath, [was the] biggest thing that’s ever been filmed in the city, 14 locations across the city, but also some more filming for those other seasons as well.
“So it’s kept on attracting visitors and people coming to do the tours in subsequent years.”
Fred Mawer has worked as a tour guide for six years. Pic: Fred Mawer
But Mr Mawer fears “there may be much less” filming in Bath for season four after reports that the production company had bought a stage set replicating Bath’s Royal Crescent.
The “million-dollar question” for Mr Mawer is what impact that could have going forward on tours specifically designed to showcase some of the show’s locations.
“It’s hard to know at the moment what impact it would have if the production company does not come back and film any more in Bath and just use the stage set,” he added.
“There will certainly still be a market for Bridgerton tours because of all the filming that took place for the first seasons.
“It may not be quite so appealing for people to come on the tours if the filming stops altogether in Bath.”
But given the avid nature of fans’ attachment to some TV series and movies, those involved in the world of set jetting believe its popularity is only set to continue.
Liverpool have won the Premier League title after a 5-1 victory over Tottenham at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s men did it in impressive style, turning over Spurs in a convincing win.
It was a rocky start for the Reds after Dominic Solanke put the north London side ahead.
However, fortunes quickly changed in the first half as Liverpool scored three times without a response.
Captain Virgil van Dijk (centre) celebrates. Pic: Reuters
Salah on his knees in celebration after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott (below) and Jarell Quansah celebrate after full-time. Pic: PA
Slot cheers after the full-time whistle. Pic: AP
In the second half, it took until the 63rd minute for Mohamed Salah to make it 4-1 before a fifth followed.
The Reds have won the title in manager Arne Slot’s first season in charge, and move level with fierce rivals Manchester United on 20 league championships.
But it makes them arguably the most successful English club ever as they have won more European Cup or Champions League titles.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk told Sky Sports after the final whistle: “It’s special and it’s something that we don’t take for granted. It’s amazing.
“A lot of emotions before the game, during the whole week, but we got the job done and we (are) truly deserved champions of England. (Liverpool is) the most beautiful club in the world and I think we deserve all of this. Let’s enjoy the next couple of weeks and let it sink in.”
Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas poses with a Premier League trophy cut out. Pic: Reuters
Manager Arne Slot and his team after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Slot took over last summer from Jurgen Klopp, who guided them to their previous and maiden Premier League title triumph in 2020, when the COVID-19 lockdown saw matches played behind closed doors.
He is the first Dutch manager to win the Premier League and the fifth man to do so in a debut campaign after Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Manuel Pellegrini, and Antonio Conte.
Speaking to Sky Sports he said: “They [the players] did an outstanding job today. The main job was to win. Everyone said we had got it already. But we had to make sure and we got over the line.”
Several players, including Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, and Mohamed Salah, played leading roles in both the 2025 and 2020 campaigns.
Van Dijk and Salah recently signed new contracts extending their careers at the club.
Mohamed Salah takes a selfie with fans after scouring the fourth Liverpool goal. Pic: AP
Fans at Anfield during the game. Pic: AP
Fans in the stands at Anfield before full-time. Pic: Reuters
Liverpool will have to wait until the final game of the season – at home to Crystal Palace on 25 May – to be presented with the Premier League trophy.
It will be the first time the club’s fans will have seen their side lift the top-flight title in person since 1990.
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Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
Read more:
Sky’s Beth Rigby running marathon in honour of ‘dearest friend’
Badenoch does not rule out local coalitions with Reform
Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
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