• Tomorrow belongs to us

    ,

    A great sun

    , 

    Here everything begins

    … The communities where TV series are filmed in eastern Occitania are all putting in place the tools to attract fans: guided tours, leaflets, corner…

  • "Those who watched

    Miami Vice

    , at the time, all wanted to go to Miami," smiles Marie-Dominique Bellamy, the director of the Montpellier tourist office.

    With

    Such a big sun

    , it's exactly the same.

    The series is very aesthetic, it shows the city, the seaside, the hinterland, etc.

    "

  • In Sète, it is the same enthusiasm.

    For Géraldine Bresson-Lafalla, director of the little tourist train of the Singular Island, the impact of the series "is enormous".

TV series are good for tourism.

In eastern Occitania, where filming has multiplied, the communities have understood this well, and are offering fans the opportunity to transform their stay into a pilgrimage to the emblematic places of the soap operas.

In Montpellier (Hérault), the tourist office relies on

Un si grand soleil

.

Regularly, tourists show up at the ticket office to ask where the series is filmed.

A plan, which allows the curious to walk in the footsteps of the characters, was thus imagined, in 2019. “Those who watched

Miami Vice

, at the time, all wanted to go to Miami, smiles Marie-Dominique Bellamy. , the director of the Montpellier tourist office.

With

Such a big sun

, it's exactly the same.

"

International attractiveness

And if it is mainly French people who come to Montpellier because they saw the city on France 2, there are also foreigners. “Two years ago, I was in Boston, and an American francophile told me 'Ah yes, Montpellier,

Un si grand soleil

 !', Continues the director of the tourist office. Through its broadcast on TV5 Monde, the series is already reaching all French-speaking countries. But this international appeal could well develop a little more: the series is now visible in North and South America in Spanish, or in Georgia. And a remake is underway in Greece.

For Toma de Matteis, deputy director of France TV Studio, the tourist benefits of

Un si grand soleil

are "inevitably happy".

“What we're trying to do is tell stories,” he notes.

If we can do this by highlighting a territory, we achieve a double objective.

"A way of" taking advantage of the space ", by" giving something back to those who welcome us ".

"It's nice to know that people are walking around town, and say to themselves 'Ah, that thing, I saw it in an episode!'

".

In Sète too, the series are successful

A "corner", which reproduces identically the offices of the zoo, was inaugurated at the tourist office, history of taking pictures like Alice and Ludo, the characters of the series of France 2. Books, magnets, bags or mugs bearing the effigy of the soap opera are also for sale. And a guided tour of the filming locations, led by a costume designer from

Un si grand soleil

, will be launched from mid-July.

This is not the only series to boost tourism.

In Sète, too,

Tomorrow belongs to us

or

Candice Renoir

is a recipe for success.

People no longer come to visit the Singular Island only for its marine cemetery or its Georges Brassens museum, but also to see the places where these series are filmed.

According to a study conducted by the town, 35% of tourists who see Sète for the first time "come after having seen a TV series," says Tiphaine Collet, director of the tourist office.

It is a very interesting media showcase.

Millions of viewers see Sète on television every evening.

"

"The impact on Sète is enormous"

A leaflet on 

Tomorrow belongs to us 

has been created. And a shop is open in the sets of Spoon, the former bar of the TF1 series. “And it works very, very well,” notes Tiphaine Collet. " 

Tomorrow belongs to us

has brought a lot of people to Sète, many tourists ask us where the series is filmed," continues Géraldine Bresson-Lafalla, director of the little tourist train. The impact on Sète is enormous. "

Finally, the youngest of the daily series,

Here everything begins

, on TF1, also attracts the curious to Saint-Laurent-d'Aigouze (Gard), where it is filmed.

At the beginning of June, the city council took action to create a goodies shop.

It should open in July.

And a good chunk of the proceeds will go into the city's finances.

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  • Languedoc-Roussillon

  • Series

  • Montpellier

  • Sète

  • Here it all begins

  • Television

  • Tourism

  • Such a great sun

  • Tomorrow belongs to us