Social media conversations about traveling in Thailand rose 60% after the premiere of the third season of “The White Lotus” on Feb. 16.
The info measured social media chatter through the three days before and after the show’s airing, in line with social media analytics company Sprout Social.
The Emmy-winning HBO series is anticipated to attract a surge in travel interest to the Thai island of Koh Samui, the newest setting of the show — because it did to Maui, Hawaii, and Sicily, Italy, in seasons one and two, respectively.
The show’s ability to attract tourism interest to its filming locations is so influential that it’s generally known as the “White Lotus effect.”
“The White Lotus” was mentioned on social media nearly 1,385,000 times by nearly 500,000 unique authors from Feb. 16-26, in line with Sprout Social. Most conversations got here from inside Thailand (86,016), followed by the USA (45,728) and Brazil (18,613), the corporate told CNBC Travel.
Patrick Schwarzenegger plays the role of “Saxon Ratliff” in the brand new season of “The White Lotus.”
Billy H.c. Kwok | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
The conversations garnered greater than 8.4 million engagements — mostly from likes, comments and shares — of which 85% were positive, it said. Nevertheless, for the posts that specifically mention Thailand, sentiment rose to 99%, in line with Sprout Social.
This is vital since the reach of those posts is so vast, said Rachael Goulet, the corporate’s director of social media.
“There have been greater than 775 million instances where conversations mentioning each ‘The White Lotus’ and Thailand appeared on users’ feeds,” said Goulet. “For context, the U.S. population is just over 340 million, so at greater than 2x that number, 775 million potential impressions don’t just indicate a robust trend on social media; it indicates a broader cultural moment.”
The info is predicated on social media conversations across X, YouTube, Reddit, and Tumblr, Sprout Social said.
“People aren’t just talking concerning the show as something to observe; they’re talking about it as a reason to travel to Thailand,” said Goulet.
Search interest and hotel rates have jumped in Koh Samui, Thailand, following attention delivered to it by the HBO hit television series “The White Lotus.”
Oleh_slobodeniuk | E+ | Getty Images
Furthermore, this season has something prior ones did not have — the ability of a pop star.
The forged includes Lalisa Manobal — more commonly generally known as Lisa from the K-pop group Blackpink. Manobal, who has around 105 million followers on Instagram, made her acting debut as “Mook” in the newest season.
Hotel and restaurant bookings
However it’s not all talk — travel searches have jumped, in lots of instances, months before the third season began.
Search interest for 4 Seasons Resort Koh Samui, the show’s principal filming location, surged 370% in Hong Kong in January 12 months on 12 months, in line with Expedia.
Within the two weeks after the third season’s premiere, searches for trips to Koh Samui jumped 115% in Singapore, 95% in the USA, and 70% in Australia, Expedia’s data showed.
Booking are up too. For the reason that season premiere, Trip.com has seen a year-on-year growth of nearly 30% in flight and hotel bookings to Koh Samui, led by Germany, the UK and France.
The “White Lotus effect” could also be boosting interest to other parts of Thailand too.
Short-term rental bookings in Thailand surged nearly 500% within the two days following the season three premiere, compared with the identical period from 2024, in line with the property management platform Guesty, whose software powers reservations on Airbnb and Booking.com, amongst others.
Annual nightly rates for short-term home rentals rose too — some 28% from February of 2024, in line with Guesty.
Average every day rates at hotels climbed 10% within the two weeks before and the season premiere, in line with Expedia. That’s on top of rising rates, which began to climb through the post-pandemic travel surge.
“The White Lotus” may even be boosting restaurant reservations beyond Thailand’s shores. Bookings at Thai restaurants in the USA increased 16% within the week following the show’s premiere, in line with the reservation service OpenTable.
Concerns about overtourism
Dr. Guy Llewellyn, assistant professor at EHL Hospitality Business School, said the “White Lotus effect” demonstrates the ability that popular culture has on travel trends, especially on younger travelers who use social media for travel inspiration.
Nevertheless, he said past instances of screen tourism function cautionary tales.
The film “The Beach,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, brought high volumes of holiday makers to Maya Bay, which was temporarily closed to rehabilitate its marine biology in 2018.
Brunocoelhopt | Istock | Getty Images
“The 2000 film ‘The Beach’ led to an enormous influx of tourists to Maya Bay, causing severe environmental damage,” he told CNBC Travel, referring to the bay off Thailand’s Phi Phi Island. “While increased tourism brings economic advantages, an unmanaged surge can result in overtourism, rising costs for locals, and environmental degradation.”
Llewellyn said Thailand should anticipate these challenges and promote lesser-known destinations and off-peak travel, while considering visitor permits for fragile areas.
“Ultimately, the ‘White Lotus Effect’ presents a possibility for Thailand to reshape its tourism narrative,” he said.
