Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” is driving a surge in travel demand for Greek destinations, according to booking data, underscoring the growing influence of film-driven travel.
EasyJet Holidays reported an immediate 18% increase in weekly bookings to Greece in the first week of August, after the film’s premiere and compared with the previous week. Corfu led the trend, with bookings up 28% and searches rising 9%. Searches for the Peloponnese increased 12%, while Kefalonia and Zakynthos recorded gains of 8% and 7%, respectively.
The effect extended beyond Greece. EasyJet Holidays reported stronger demand for Sicily, where bookings rose 8% and searches increased in Catania and Palermo. The company created packages tied to the production.
Separately, Unforgettable Greece told Travel Weekly that bookings to Greece increased 76% year-over-year because of the film. The company launched 22 new thematic itineraries linking Athens, Corfu and Ithaca. The Greek National Tourism Organization sought to capitalize on the international attention. Through its France office, it organized a press trip to Ithaca that resulted in a 162-page publication by Le Figaro magazine, titled “In the Footsteps of Odysseus.”
The trend reflects the broader phenomenon known as “set-jetting,” in which films and television productions influence travel decisions. Expedia Group’s Unpack survey found that more than 50% of travelers research or plan trips to places they first encountered through screen productions, with Millennials and Generation Z leading.
The article cites earlier examples. After the 2006 release of “The Da Vinci Code,” visits to Scotland’s Rosslyn Chapel doubled, surpassing 120,000, while the Louvre Museum recorded 7.5 million visitors that year. More recently, HBO’s “House of the Dragon” helped fill accommodations in Portugal’s mountain village of Monsanto and boosted the local economy, according to regional tourism authorities.
