New season of ‘The White Lotus’ brings a tourist boom in Thailand

On By Littum

When the third season of the Hit HBO series “The White Lotus” debuts on Sunday, viewers will be transported to the tropical island of Koh Samui, Thailand. And if previous seasons are any indication, many of them will soon book vacations there too.

The show, which takes place on another fictional white lotus luxury resort every season, centers on a group of wealthy tourists, their interpersonal dramas and the inevitable tension with staff and locals, all based on paradise crooked.

With a wave of tourists set to wash ashore, they are approx. 68,000 inhabitants of Koh Samui by becoming much more familiar with the “White Lotus” effect.

On the pristine white sand of Chaweng Beach a recent evening, Tey, 46, a local carpenter who refused to give his last name said he didn’t really know much about the series. But then came a flash of recognition.

“Yes, yes. Lisa’s show was filmed here, ”he said. Lisa, or Lalisa Manobal, is a Thai member of the k-pop band Blackpink, debuting this season of this season of “The white lotus.”

Had he heard anything else about it? Tey shook his head.

Bookings for $ 2,000 at night Four Seasons Resort Koh SamuiWhere a large part of Season 3 was shot has already jumped 40 percent. And when the new season starts streaming, Marc Speichert, the CEO Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer for Four seasons hotels and resortssaid he expected the demand to increase “exponentially.”

“We saw a 10x increase in the properties of Maui and Taormina,” said Mr. Speichert and referred to the four seasons in Hawaii and Sicily, where much of seasons 1 and 2 were shot. It advanced travel network Virtuos said its data showed a 424 percent increase in sales to Sicily after Season 2.

For visitors to Koh Samui who want a taste of the sweet “white Lotus” life but do not have the bank balance to match, Four Seasons Day offers passes that allow the use of the beach and access to restaurants and bars if you spend At least 5,000 baht, or about $ 150, said Jasjit Assi, the resort’s general manager.

Other companies, locals as well as global, are also knocking on a boom. American Express offers a White Lotus Thailand Experience Package for certain card members. It includes three days at Four Seasons Resort and a full moon party.

Even about 200 miles west of the popular island of Phuket, where some parts of season 3 were shot, hotels try to deposit on “The White Lotus.” The Anantara Mai Khao Phuket VillasFor example, boasts that it offers a level of luxury similar to that in the four seasons, and unlike Koh Samui, Phuket is home to a Michelin-Star Restaurant, Pru.

Phuket, Bangkok and Koh Samui are all stops on the seven-night White Lotus Thailand Tour Offered by Unforgettable Travel Company, a luxury tour operator, for just under $ 8,000 per day. Person. It includes private trips in Bangkok and Sunset Cruises in Bangkok and Koh Samui.

“I think it’s going to be huge for Samui,” said Michael Brazier, owner-manager of NahmA relaxed, airy fusion restaurant located above the water near Koh Samui’s airport. Mr. Brazier already enjoyed his own “White Lotus” of his own: A group of actors, including Walton Goggins, who plays one of the guests of the resort, visited Nahm several times a week while filming, he said, and he had the pictures for proof the.

But the trend has started in recent years with events like “Bridgerton” -style bullets and “Emily in Paris” -inspired girls’ trips to the French Riviera. By 2023, the high-end travel provider BLACK Tomato began to offer experiences like James Bond-theme private tripsIncluding a speedboat run on the Thames, for $ 18,500 and up.

But in the past, set-jetters visited most of the places they had already seen in their favorite movies or shows. With Season 3 of “The White Lotus” they are not waiting.

British actor Jason Isaacs, one of the stars of the new season, said he was surprised to hear that Set-Jetters already traveled to Koh Samui.

“I didn’t realize it was already one thing,” he said.

Mr. Isaacs, who spoke by phone when he was on his way to the Los Angeles season premiere, said he managed to make a little exploration of his own over the more than two months he was at Koh Samui for film. He quoted temple visits, waterfall walks, massage and training in Thai boxing as some of the highlights. “Samui is a beautiful, layered, complex place, full of incredible beauty,” he said.

But he warned that the expected influx of visitors and the accompanying development will also have disadvantages that repeat the theme of Haves-and-Having-Noth-Thema that is woven into the show. Despite the beautiful surroundings, there is “poverty and deprivation,” he said. “Visitors will look a lot if they are curious and keep their eyes open.”

Tey, the Carpenter from Chaweng Beach, knows all too well which change has brought to the island. He remembers when he was a child, the sight of a foreigner was a great event. Back then, the hills were not covered with expatriate villas, and roads were not lined with stores sold marijuana, which was decriminalized in Thailand in 2022.

But at the same time, Tey, who learned English working for a British developer who builds the same villas, was pragmatic about the changes.

These tourists and posted bring money to the island, he said, expressing a feeling that would not be out of place in a “White Lotus” episode: “They can do what they want.”

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