Travel Advisors Discuss the Impact of TV and Movies on European Travel

I can say with a high degree of certainty that I wouldn't be writing articles like this one if it wasn't for television shows and movies about Europe.

Back in the mid-2000s, while I had a vague sense of wanting to see the world someday, I also had no plans in the works whatsoever.

Then I discovered a handful of travelogues, one iconic reality competition and a few movies based in Europe and things escalated rather quickly.

I still didn't own a passport, but I soon had a Tivo (remember those?) stacked with shows like Passport to Europe, The Amazing Race and Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations and movies like Love Actually & Ocean's 12.

In a matter of months, the wick of my wanderlust was lit and a decision had been made on where I needed to go first to dip my toe into this whole "traveling the world" thing: Europe.

The rest, as they say, is history.

And I'm not alone, not by a long shot. As many articles and academic studies on the matter have concluded, TV shows and movies are a massive driver of interest in European travel.