WEBVTT - Koh Samui braces for the White Lotus Effect

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<v Speaker 1>From the Australian. Here's what's on the front. I'm Claire Harvey.

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<v Speaker 1>It's Thursday, February twenty Australia's ability to produce steel. That's

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<v Speaker 1>what's at stake in the South Australian government's decision to

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<v Speaker 1>force a huge steel works at Wyala into administration. That's

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<v Speaker 1>the claim from Premier piomal Anauskus. That story, plus all

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<v Speaker 1>the implications and the fallout, is live now at the

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<v Speaker 1>Australian dot com. Dou Death plus Paradise equals tourist Bonanza.

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<v Speaker 1>That's the formula of the glittering HBO global blockbuster The Whiteloaders,

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<v Speaker 1>which has already transformed the economies of Sicily and Hawaii

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<v Speaker 1>and is now zeroing in on Thailand. Today we explore

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<v Speaker 1>a cultural phenomenon with huge economic implications and meet a

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<v Speaker 1>generation of travelers unashamedly embracing a new kind of luxury.

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<v Speaker 1>What happens and Thailand.

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<v Speaker 2>Stays and Thailand.

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<v Speaker 1>One of our regulars was just asking me about you.

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<v Speaker 2>Really, he has a lovely girlfriend, but he seems interested

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<v Speaker 2>in you.

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<v Speaker 1>I think we call it plas we are not calling

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<v Speaker 1>the police. The White Lotus is back, featuring a murder,

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<v Speaker 1>a luxury resort and some Knochio's socks off scenery. That

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<v Speaker 1>means the setting, the Thai island of Kosamui is about

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<v Speaker 1>to become the world's hottest destination. We know this because

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<v Speaker 1>it's already happened to Sicily and Hawaii. The settings for

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<v Speaker 1>season one and two Boha, Happy to be here, run

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<v Speaker 1>our honeymoon is such valued guests.

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<v Speaker 2>Welcome to the White Lotus.

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<v Speaker 1>Whenever I stay at a White Lotus, I always have

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<v Speaker 1>a memorable time. Lois Welcome to the White Lotus.

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<v Speaker 2>In Cecily, The White.

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<v Speaker 1>Lotus is filmed in a four seasons hotel and it

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<v Speaker 1>has been great for business. There was a four hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and twenty five percent optic in website visits to their

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<v Speaker 1>Maui resort after the first season aired, and the same

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<v Speaker 1>thing happened again in Sicily after season two. The San

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<v Speaker 1>Domenico Palace was booked up for six months when it

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<v Speaker 1>reopened after filming, and the effect spread well beyond the

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<v Speaker 1>original resorts.

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<v Speaker 2>They call it set jetting.

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<v Speaker 3>It's where people really want to relive their experiences of

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<v Speaker 3>watching TV, their favorite shows, their favorite characters, and seeing

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<v Speaker 3>it in real life.

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<v Speaker 1>The White Lotus is not the first piece of silver

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<v Speaker 1>screen magic to attract real life audiences. The Beach with

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<v Speaker 1>Leonardo DiCaprio in the year two thousand, so much here

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<v Speaker 1>to inspires we're not going to jump, we get jam

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<v Speaker 1>sent millionians of travelers to copp In Thailand for its

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<v Speaker 1>azure waters and ivory beaches. Yes, yes, the deli from

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<v Speaker 1>Harry met Sally, I'll have what she's having, the cupcake

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<v Speaker 1>shop in Sex and the City I.

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<v Speaker 2>Have a crush. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>But the age of streaming has taken this to a

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<v Speaker 1>whole new level. Just ask the residents of Paris, who

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<v Speaker 1>are now seeing new hordes of gen Z travelers discovering

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<v Speaker 1>its charming squares and cobbled streets thanks to Netflix's ultra poised,

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<v Speaker 1>dressed up take on the American abroad in Emily in Paris.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh my god. If you're like Nicole Kidman and La Roche,

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<v Speaker 2>you've got all of Paris fet.

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<v Speaker 1>So, given the travel inspired by cinematic fantasy is not new,

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<v Speaker 1>what's different about the way it's happening now?

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<v Speaker 2>I think that's a couple of things. One.

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<v Speaker 3>I think it's the power of streaming services. Everyone is

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<v Speaker 3>watching the same show at the same time around the world,

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<v Speaker 3>which never really happened before. And then there's also social media,

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<v Speaker 3>so people talk about what they've watched and then kind

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<v Speaker 3>of exchange memes and ideas and whatever.

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<v Speaker 2>It all takes off culturally.

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<v Speaker 3>And also the White Lotus came out during lockdown, so

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<v Speaker 3>I think people were really enamored with just getting somewhere

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<v Speaker 3>else that was not their laund room. And it was

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<v Speaker 3>at the same time as Emily in Paris and Bridgington,

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<v Speaker 3>so Bridgington was a bit obviously staged, but it's the

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<v Speaker 3>same principle, and I just think people really love going

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<v Speaker 3>to see where their favorite characters have been.

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<v Speaker 1>Milanderraut is the Australian's Deputy editor of Travel and Luxury,

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<v Speaker 1>and part of it is a generation who were very

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<v Speaker 1>keen to spend some time in an ultra luxury hotel,

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<v Speaker 1>wearing an amazing wardrobe and sipping cocktails by the pool,

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<v Speaker 1>Whereas in Mayan Milander's generation exploring the world in the

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<v Speaker 1>early two thousands, it was all about trying to be

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<v Speaker 1>as authentic and low fire as possible. I mean, we

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<v Speaker 1>were unbear staying in stinking backpacker hostels in the most

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<v Speaker 1>grungey destinations we could find because we were showing off

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<v Speaker 1>to each other about how cool we were.

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<v Speaker 3>They want to properly live out the full television experience.

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<v Speaker 3>They don't want to just walk past the hotel or

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<v Speaker 3>even take a picture out the front of the hotel.

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<v Speaker 3>They want to stay there. And I think, again, it's

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<v Speaker 3>back to social media and people seeing things that they

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<v Speaker 3>never would have normally seen before. And I guess people

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<v Speaker 3>just deciding that they really want to save their money

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<v Speaker 3>and go somewhere, maybe for a short period of time,

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<v Speaker 3>but you know, really go somewhere really.

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<v Speaker 1>Nice coming up. Apart from the White Lotus character who

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<v Speaker 1>inevitably dies each season, what's the downside of this avalanche

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<v Speaker 1>of aspiration that's after the break? Every season of The

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<v Speaker 1>White Lotus somebody dies an awful death in that usually

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<v Speaker 1>happens in the first few minutes. But there's also a

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<v Speaker 1>potential downside for these destinations. Can you talk to me

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit about that and how they balance the

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<v Speaker 1>excitement of being in a global phenomenon like this with

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<v Speaker 1>the reality of what it's actually going to be like.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, it's interesting you should say that I've been getting

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<v Speaker 3>press releases from the hotels that are featured in The

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<v Speaker 3>White Lotus for months now. Since it was kind of

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<v Speaker 3>leaked or announced last year that these hotels would be

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<v Speaker 3>part of it. They are really making a big deal

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<v Speaker 3>of it, so they're very much embracing it.

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<v Speaker 1>One of the themes of The White Lotus is the

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<v Speaker 1>disparity between the real lives of the people who work

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<v Speaker 1>in these resorts and the curated reality they provide for

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<v Speaker 1>their guests. You know, it's quite gritty too, isn't it.

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<v Speaker 1>The poverty of the staff in their actual lives juxtaposed

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<v Speaker 1>with the extreme wealth of the guests. How do you

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<v Speaker 1>think luxury is nowadays? Are thinking about that where maybe

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<v Speaker 1>once they were just racked with guilt.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't know whether they, but I think it's extraordinary.

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<v Speaker 3>These shows don't portray these guests in a particularly positive light.

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<v Speaker 2>You don't like any of them, but obviously.

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<v Speaker 3>We want their lives and the life cells they're living,

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<v Speaker 3>and we want to visit the places they're going to.

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<v Speaker 1>What do you think is ahead for Kosamui and how

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<v Speaker 1>do they manage the kind of volume of tourists who

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<v Speaker 1>they're going to get.

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<v Speaker 3>It's definitely something that they have seen before Thailand because

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<v Speaker 3>they had a huge problem with this after Leonardo DiCaprio's

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<v Speaker 3>movie The Beach, and they actually had to close Maya

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<v Speaker 3>Bay for a number of years thanks to over tourism.

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<v Speaker 3>And I remember the before and after pictures of the

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<v Speaker 3>before this beautiful, pristine water and stunning surroundings, and then

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<v Speaker 3>afterwards rubbish and boats everywhere. So I suppose the question

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<v Speaker 3>is how is Thailand now prepared to manage it and

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<v Speaker 3>the influx of tourists and the costs and benefits of that.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm not exactly sure. It'll be interesting to see what happens. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 3>do you think it's overall a good thing? Should Australia

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<v Speaker 3>be campaigning to be in The White Loadus?

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<v Speaker 2>Oh? Absolutely, I think that.

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<v Speaker 3>I can imagine every country in the world is campaigning

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<v Speaker 3>to be in The White Lotus.

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<v Speaker 2>In fact, they probably did with the last series.

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<v Speaker 3>And tourism campaigns are now built around filming locations. Governments

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<v Speaker 3>are now helping fund productions they can film in their locations.

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<v Speaker 3>They make such a big impact on people when they

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<v Speaker 3>have such a reach in terms of culture, whether it

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<v Speaker 3>be like the White Lotus or even like the Bear

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<v Speaker 3>in Chicago.

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<v Speaker 2>People are visiting there now.

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<v Speaker 3>To experience the restaurants and the cafes and just be

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<v Speaker 3>on the streets where their characters were.

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<v Speaker 1>The land About is The Australian's Deputy editor of Travel

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<v Speaker 1>and Luxury. That's every Saturday in the Weekend Australian and

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<v Speaker 1>it's live all the time at the Australian dot com

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<v Speaker 1>dot u slash Travel