Lily Collins on set on “Emily In Paris” at the Musée des Arts Forains—now you can take the holiday
Like or loathe its quaint depictions of the French capital, Emily in Paris has stamped its mark on how a new generation of Netflix viewers regard Paris—and now the streaming giant has given its permission to use the name for short holidays in Paris offering tailored experiences as seen on the show.
The idea of “setjetting” took hold during the Covid lockdowns—viewers had to vicariously imagine themselves in the chic locations they were watching onscreen because they weren’t allowed to step outside of the house. Emily in Paris, for instance, was streamed in 58 million households in 2020, creating a market for Parisian trips—and setjetting has since become a travel staple, as people are now able to venture abroad to visit the backdrops to their favorite scenes.
In the case of Emily Cooper, the young American who arrives from Chicago to work in a fictional marketing agency, fans can now flock to the set pieces across Paris, such as Place de l’Estrapade in the 5th arrondissement, where Emily finds a studio apartment and an impossibly handsome neighbour, Gabriel. The cute square has all the hallmarks of a Parisian setting—sumptuous architecture, bubbling fountains, leafy trees and a traditional French bistro, although actually, the square used to be a place of torture. Until 1687, wrongdoers were dropped by a rope from a great height to suffer dislocations and fractures.
A travel startup, Dharma, has been given the go-ahead by Paramount Global, the parent of the show’s producer, MTV Entertainment Studios. Likewise, Netflix has said it will allow the series’ content and brand to be used for the trips. It makes sense for Netflix to encourage continued watching—when the third season streamed in December, it officially became the most watched series on Netflix, accruing 1.4 billion streaming minutes in the first five days.
Dharma will run tours lasting a few days called Paris by Emily, where hosts called “Emileaders” will guide groups of 8-16 participants around well-known locations from the show and through immersive experiences centering on lifestyle, fashion and romance. Like drinking some Lillet-Spritz cocktails, taking a masterclass in seduction or French and pastry-making. There are also behind-the-scenes set visits and fashion outings, although every trip will not be exactly the same. Prices start at €3,378 ($3,600) in a shared room with some breakfasts and dinners included for five nights—travel to and from Paris is additional.
Charaf El Mansouri, the chief executive of Dharma said that these experiences were crafted to offer travelers more than just a beret and some photos. As a travel startup, it aims to offer transformational travel experiences, focusing “more on the why rather than the where”.
As reported in The Times, the travel vision offered is one where viewers could press a button saying Book Now at the end of episodes they enjoy and immediately sign up for their next trip. Laura Lindsay, Skyscanner’s destination expert reported that as many as 40% of travelers are influenced by where there favorite shows take place. Likewise, a recent Amex Travel Trends Survey found that 64% of people who responded were inspired to visit a place based on shows they had seen. For Millennials, this figure rises to 70%.
La Boulangerie Moderne, a 19th-century bakery on Rue des Fossés Saint-Jacques where the character first tasted a pain au chocolat, has reported that as many as 40% of its customers are propelled to visit because of the show. Such trips can undoubtedly bring in welcome revenue but they can also cause issues for other businesses and locals.
The Guardian recently reported, for instance, that some places in Amsterdam are suffering from food crowds that frequently descend on small cobbled outlets in quiet streets to queue for treats that others have posted on TikTok or other social media—a lot of people feel, as is the case with Emily in Paris that this sort of tourism is superficial. Visitors are looking for Instagrammable poses, to live something briefly but not to immerse themselves in the heart of neighborhoods or really understand the local way of life.