When you walk through Times Square this summer…
Don’t be surprised if you see someone looking up at the skyscrapers instead of their phone.
Not because they’re lost.
Because they’re looking for Spider-Man.
It sounds ridiculous…
But it’s already happening.
Every time a movie becomes a global phenomenon, people don’t just fall in love with the story.
They fall in love with the place where the story happened.
It’s a trend so powerful that it even has a name.
Set-jetting.
The idea is simple.
You don’t choose your next trip because of a travel agency.
You choose it because of Netflix.
Or HBO.
Or Marvel.
Or the last movie that made you dream.
And with Spider-Man: Brand New Day finally hitting theaters, New York is once again becoming more than a city.
It’s becoming a character.
Because unlike many superheroes…
Spider-Man has never belonged to a fictional world.
Batman has Gotham.
Superman has Metropolis.
Spider-Man has New York.
A real city.
With real streets.
Real subway stations.
Real rooftops.
Every swing between skyscrapers makes millions of people feel like they’ve already been there.
And that’s exactly why tourism experts are paying attention.
According to an Expedia study, 81% of Gen Z say movies and TV shows influence where they want to travel.
Think about that for a second.
Four out of five young travelers are letting entertainment shape their bucket list.
Not travel brochures.
Not guidebooks.
Stories.
And New York knows how to turn those stories into experiences.
You can walk through Queens, where Peter Parker grew up.
Take photos in Times Square, where countless Spider-Man scenes were filmed.
Cross the Queensboro Bridge.
Visit Grand Central Terminal.
Or simply wander through Manhattan imagining that somewhere above you…
Someone is swinging between the buildings.
That’s the magic of cinema.
It doesn’t just sell tickets.
It sells destinations.
And cities understand that better than ever.
Today, governments don’t only compete to attract tourists.
They compete to attract movie productions.
Because one successful film can inspire millions of people to book a flight they were never planning to take.
That’s why countries spend millions offering tax incentives to Hollywood.
They’re not financing movies.
They’re investing in future tourism.
So maybe…
Spider-Man’s greatest superpower isn’t climbing walls.
It might be convincing an entire generation to visit New York.
Without ever asking them to.
The real question is…
When you book your next trip… are you really choosing the destination… or are your favorite movies quietly choosing it for you?
