When the third season of the hit HBO series 鈥淭he White Lotus鈥 debuted recently, viewers were transported to the tropical island of Koh Samui, Thailand. And if previous seasons are any indication, many of them will soon be booking vacations there, too.
The show, which takes place at a different fictional White Lotus luxury resort each season, centres on a group of wealthy tourists, their interpersonal dramas and the inevitable tension with staff and locals, all against a backdrop of paradise skewed.
Koh Samui was one of The New York Times鈥 52 Places to Go in 2025, and Thailand was Travel+Leisure鈥檚 2025 destination of the year.
With a wave of tourists set to wash ashore, the roughly 68,000 residents of Koh Samui are about to get a lot more familiar with the 鈥淲hite Lotus鈥 effect.
On the pristine white sand of Chaweng Beach one recent evening, Tey, 46, a local carpenter who declined to give his last name, said he didn鈥檛 really know much about the series. But then came a flash of recognition.
鈥淵es, yes. Lisa鈥檚 show was filmed here,鈥 he said. Lisa, or Lalisa Manobal, is a Thai member of the K-pop band Blackpink who makes her acting debut in this season of 鈥淭he White Lotus.鈥
Had he heard anything else about it? Tey shook his head.
Selling a Taste of Luxury:聽Koh Samui, an 228-square-kilometre gem in the Gulf of Thailand about 756 km south of Bangkok, has long charmed visitors with its miles of beaches, tranquil waters, jungle-covered hills, restaurants and nightlife.
Bookings at the $2,000- (U.S.)-a-night Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui, where a large part of Season 3 was shot, have already jumped 40 per cent. And as the new season begins streaming, Marc Speichert, the executive vice-president and chief commercial officer of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, said he expects demand to increase 鈥渆xponentially.鈥
鈥淲e saw a 10-fold increase in the properties in Maui and Taormina,鈥 said Speichert, referring to the Four Seasons resorts in Hawaii and Sicily where much of Seasons 1 and 2 were shot. The high-end travel network Virtuoso said its data showed a 424-per-cent spike in sales to Sicily after Season 2.
For visitors to Koh Samui who want a taste of the sweet 鈥淲hite Lotus鈥 life, but don鈥檛 have the bank balances to match, the Four Seasons offers day passes allowing use of the beach and access to restaurants and bars if you spend at least 5,000 baht, or about $150 (U.S.), said Jasjit Assi, the resort鈥檚 general manager.
Other businesses, local as well as global, are also banking on a boom. American Express is offering a White Lotus Thailand Experience package to certain card members. It includes three days at the Four Seasons resort and a full-moon party.
Even about 322 km west on the popular island of Phuket, where some parts of the Season 3 were shot, hotels are trying to cash in on 鈥淭he White Lotus.鈥 The Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas, for example, boasts that it offers a level of luxury similar to that of the Four Seasons, and unlike Koh Samui, Phuket is home to a Michelin-starred restaurant, Pru.
Phuket, Bangkok and Koh Samui are all stops on the seven-night White Lotus Thailand trip offered by Unforgettable Travel Co., a luxury tour operator, for just under $8,000 (U.S.) per person. It includes private tours of Bangkok and sunset cruises in Bangkok and Koh Samui.
鈥淚 think it is going to be huge for Samui,鈥 said Michael Brasier, the owner-manager of Nahm, a casual, airy fusion restaurant perched over the water near Koh Samui鈥檚 airport. Brasier already benefited from a 鈥淲hite Lotus鈥 boon of his own: A group of actors including Walton Goggins, who plays one of the resort guests, visited Nahm several times a week while filming, he said, and he had the photos to prove it.
鈥楪orgeous, Layered, Complex鈥:聽The idea of 鈥渟et-jetting,鈥 or visiting the filming sites of favourite shows and movies, stretches back at least as far as the early 2000s, when the 鈥淟ord of the Rings鈥 franchise flooded New Zealand with J.R.R. Tolkien-obsessed visitors.
But the trend has taken off in recent years, with events such as 鈥淏ridgerton鈥-style balls and 鈥淓mily in Paris鈥-inspired girls鈥 trips to the French Riviera. In 2023, the high-end travel provider Black Tomato began offering experiences like James Bond-themed private tours, including a speedboat race on the River Thames, for $18,500 (U.S.) and up.
But in the past, set-jetters mostly visited places they had already seen in their favourite movies or shows. With Season 3 of 鈥淭he White Lotus,鈥 they鈥檙e not waiting.
British actor Jason Isaacs, one of the stars of the new season, said he was surprised to hear that set-jetters were already travelling to Koh Samui.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 realize that was a thing already,鈥 he said.
Isaacs, who spoke by phone as he was en route to the season premiere in Los Angeles, said he managed to do a little exploration of his own during the more than two months he was on Koh Samui for filming. He cited temple visits, waterfall hikes, massages and training in Thai boxing as some of the highlights. 鈥淪amui is a gorgeous, layered, complex place, full of incredible beauty,鈥 he said.
But he cautioned that the expected influx of visitors and the accompanying development will have downsides, too, echoing the haves-and-have-nots theme woven into the show. Despite the beautiful setting, there is 鈥減overty and deprivation,鈥 he said. 鈥淰isitors will see a lot if they are curious and keep their eyes open.鈥
Tey, the carpenter from Chaweng Beach, knows all too well what change has brought to the island. He remembers when he was a child, the sight of a foreigner was a big event. Back then the hills weren鈥檛 covered with expat-owned villas and the roads weren鈥檛 lined with shops selling marijuana, which was decriminalized in Thailand in 2022.
But at the same time, Tey, who learned English working for a British developer building those same villas, was pragmatic about the changes.
Those tourists and expats bring money to the island, he said, expressing a sentiment that wouldn鈥檛 be out of place in a 鈥淲hite Lotus鈥 episode: 鈥淭hey can do what they want.鈥
This article originally appeared in .
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