The most recent "Game of Thrones" season is currently under way and diehard fans are not only loving the series, they are booking trips to destinations where the show was filmed.
"Game of Thrones" isn't the only television show that has been encouraging travel. Agents are booking clients to destinations that have been featured on other shows such as "House Hunters" or "The Bachelor."
Fans of movies such as the "Star Trek" franchise or television shows such as "Downton Abbey" have also ramped up travel to filming locations.
Diane Bean, a travel advisor with Off On Vacation in Bangor, Maine, just completed planning a trip to Ireland for TJ and Cassie, a young couple who are avid "Game of Thrones" fans.
"[TJ's] number-one request was a tour to see the direwolves that are a big part of the show," said Bean. "Imagine my surprise when I googled "dire wolf" and I read on Wikipedia that they were extinct. I really thought I was going to have a problem making this vacation dream come true."
Bean started researching Northern Ireland, where part of the show is filmed.
"I found that the Stark family's famous direwolves are not wolves; they just look like them," she said. "They are actually Northern Inuit Dogs, a crossbreed of the Siberian Husky. I eventually found a tour of the actual "Winterfell" castle that offered a meet-and-greet with the show's 'direwolves.'"
Another highlight of the tour was that the couple was able to dress up in authentic "Game of Thrones" period costumes.
"It was a challenge finding the tour and then it was another challenge making the date work," said Bean. "Just another day in the life of a professional travel advisor."
[READMORE]READ MORE: Agent to Agent: 'Game of Thrones' Bandwagon is Yours[/READMORE]
According to Daniel Hauptfeld, marketing director of Katarina Line, clients like to go where their neighbor has just been or travel somewhere featured in a good movie, television show or documentary.
"Croatia is especially popular because many "Game of Thrones" scenes are actually filmed on location there, and there are tours that take people to them," he said. "Even so, nothing beats word-of-mouth and personal recommendations from friends and family for generating sales."
Kim DalPonte, consultant and owner of Pixie Dust & Paradise Travel Inc., once had a client call and ask her to book her a trip to Guam.
"I asked her why she wanted to go there, and she really had no idea, except that it seemed pretty," said DalPonte. "I asked her, 'Did you just see Guam on last week's episode of 'House Hunters International?'' She said yes. We laughed, then decided that Hawaii was a better fit for her family."
Jessica Cribari, consultant and owner of Barefoot Getaways Travel said that her clients are hugely affected by travel trends, especially millennials.
"I believe 'The Bachelor' plays a major part of this, but movies do as well," said Cribari. "I am still getting clients who want to go to the resort where 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' was filmed, which is Turtle Bay in Hawaii. They know nothing outside of what the movie depicts but they know they want to experience it and tell their friends about it."
Has a particular television show or movie inspired you to travel? Do you have to visit a place because it was the location of "The Amazing Race" or "Survivor?" Let us know.
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