The third season of the HBO series The White Lotus has sparked an 88% increase in internet searches for Koh Samui and led to a 44% rise in hotel reservations on Thailand’s second-largest island, say tourism executives.
The Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT) believes Koh Samui may not experience a low season this year thanks to the hit series — a satire that focuses on the lives of employees and their wealthy guests at an exclusive Thai resort over the space of a week.
Season 3 of The White Lotus has significantly boosted interest in travel to Thailand, particularly to Koh Samui, council vice-president Ratchaporn Poolsawadee said on Friday.
Online searches for Koh Samui have surged by 88% since the promotion of the third season of the series began. The first of eight episodes was shown on Monday on the Max streaming service, with new episodes to follow weekly.
The Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui plays a starring role as the fictional White Lotus Resort & Spa in Season 3. Some scenes were also shot at the Anantara Bophut, Anantara Lawana and Anantara Mai Khao Phuket resorts.
According to Opodo, an online travel agency established by European airlines, British travellers showed the most interest in Thailand, with a 53% year-on-year increase in searches.
So far in the opening week of the show’s new season, netizens from the United Kingdom ranked third globally among people searching for destinations in Thailand, with the country accounting for 9% of their travel searches.
Koh Samui led with an 88% increase, while searches for Phuket and Bangkok rose by 66% and 61%, respectively, among UK users.
Accommodation bookings and trip reservations also spiked for this online demographic, with those made for Koh Samui up 44% and Bangkok up 17%.
Mr Ratchaporn said the TV show has created huge buzz in the tourism sector. According to Agoda, hotel searches for Koh Samui climbed 12% even before the programme began airing.
Meanwhile, searches for accommodation on the island among users from the United States have increased by 65% since January.
The top five countries searching for Koh Samui on Agoda now are Israel, Germany, France, the UK and the US.
Mr Ratchaporn said the Lisa effect — a reference to the Thai K-pop superstar Lalisa “Lisa” Manobal, who appears in the show as a resort staff member — is not just attracting British, European and American tourists but also Asean-based fans following in her footsteps.
This trend provides an opportunity for hotels and tourism businesses to consolidate data for their marketing strategies, he noted.
Mr Ratchaporn said he expects the series will help boost tourism on the island throughout the year, potentially to the extent there will be no low season.
Production of The White Lotus Season 3 was supported by the Department of Tourism, which helps facilitate international film productions with budgets exceeding 50 million baht in Thailand.
Other productions filmed last year in the kingdom included Jurassic World 4 and the TV series Alien. The combined value of all three exceeded 7 billion baht, Mr Ratchaporn said.
This serves as a form of soft power showcasing Thailand’s cultural appeal, he added.