Oregon has for decades drawn visitors attracted by the state’s natural beauty, unspoiled coastline, snow-capped mountains, high desert and rushing rivers. But there’s a new development in tourism, as an increasing number of travelers want to visit locations where popular movies or TV shows were filmed.
The rise of film and TV tourism has sparked media coverage, along with the arrival of apps, websites and other sources devoted to directing fans to places they’ve seen on their screens. It’s a trend that’s happening in Oregon as well, according to Tim Williams, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Film & Television, otherwise known as Oregon Film.
“I think film tourism is a growing field and a field that hasn’t been properly tracked or identified prior to the last couple of years,” Williams said.
More than 450 popular movie and TV projects shot in Oregon contribute to the appeal, Allie Gardner, industry communications manager with Travel Oregon, wrote in an email.
Gardner cites such examples as “The Goonies,” “Free Willy,” “Kindergarten Cop,” “The Shining,” “Stand By Me,” “Point Break,” “The Hunted” and “Drugstore Cowboy” as projects that motivate tourism.
“Astoria and Cannon Beach have always been big draws for ‘Goonies’ fans,” Gardner wrote. “Some insist that seeing Haystack Rock for the first time is like meeting a favorite celebrity.”
In an effort to make the most of visitor interest, the film office and the nonprofit Oregon Made Creative Foundation teamed up to launch the Oregon Film Trail, a project in which signs are placed in locations around the state that served as locations for memorable movies.
While the film trail has been around for a few years now — early signs were put in place in September 2018 and January 2019 commemorating “The Goonies,” “Kindergarten Cop” and “Short Circuit” — the initiative has continued to expand.
“We are now getting other film commissions and tourism boards asking us how to do a film trail, and why a film trail is valuable,” Williams said. “Film tourism is a big thing in Oregon, but I don’t think a lot of people realize that.”
Part of the challenge in making the case for film and TV tourism as an economic benefit to communities, Williams said, has been a lack of data reflecting the volume of visitors who come to Oregon to take in film and TV filming locations.
Nationally, studies show that film tourism generates plenty of dollars. A report from the market research organization Film Market Insights cites data that says the film tourism sector is estimated at $66.7 billion in the U.S. for 2022. According to the report, the film tourism market is expected to grow “at a steady rate,” as interest is fueled by visitors’ interest in pop culture and exposure to films, TV series, documentaries and other content.
The advent of apps and websites designed to take advantage of interest in film tourism is part of the trend’s momentum, according to the Film Market Insights report. Oregon Film has seen how such apps can help provide information about the number of visitors to popular locations, thanks to a partnership with SetJetters, a global film tourism app.
The film office has added SetJetters QR codes to Oregon Film Trail signposts and places of interest in Oregon. Visitors can download the SetJetters app to find information about where notable scenes were filmed. The code also allows visitors to see information about local businesses, history, events and other nearby points of interest.
SetJetters, which claims that more than 100 million people a year are inspired to travel by movies and TV, can be downloaded for free on Apple and Android devices.
In addition to offering information to tourists, the SetJetters app also provides data on which locations tourists are visiting. For example, the SetJetters’ partnership with the Astoria Chamber of Commerce and the Oregon Film Museum reveals that each of the seven area locations that have the QR codes see an average of 50 scans per day, according to SetJetters.
Erik Nachtrieb, SetJetters CEO and co-founder, wrote in an email that SetJetters, based in Seattle, was created during the COVID lockdown in 2020. The idea, he said, was to launch the app in New Zealand, “as it was supposed to be the first region to come out of COVID lockdown and open to tourism in a bubble with Australia, their largest inbound tourist. Turns out they were the last to open up. Therefore, in early 2021, still under major COVID restrictions, we looked for a region that understood film tourism. To our surprise, it turned out to be right next door,” in Oregon.
Nachtrieb drove to Portland to meet with Jane Ridley, who handles marketing communications and special events for Oregon Film.
“We identified how SetJetters could continue testing our platform and at the same time digitally amplify the physical Oregon Film Trail signs and movie scene locations via a QR code. We found a partner who understood the economic benefits film tourism brings to a region.”
Nachtrieb emphasizes that SetJetters’ biggest partner is the public, as tourists are invited to the “Submit a Scene” portal on the app and the website, which allows them to suggest a film location site that may not yet be on the app.
Oregonians and other tourists discover SetJetters through the Oregon Film Trail sign and QR code, “open the mobile app and discover the over 400 movie scene locations in Oregon,” Nachtrieb said.
