The Double-Edged Sword of Celebrity Travelogues: A Case Study of Florence and Its Local Trattoria
As the sun sets over the picturesque streets of Florence, Italy, Stanley Tucci’s latest National Geographic travelogue, Tucci in Italy, is making waves. The Academy Award nominee’s latest venture is part of a long tradition of celebrity-fronted travel shows that explore the “hidden corners” of the globe. However, this time around, the stakes are different. The rise of overcrowding at renowned beauty spots, particularly in southern Europe, has become a significant issue, with many blaming social media-obsessed influencers for snapping Instagram-friendly shots without much care for local people. But could it be that travelogues are the original reason places feel overwhelmed?
Take Padstow, a Cornish fishing village once known for its charm. Now, it’s a prime example of the hype created by television programmes. The harbour-front is teeming with visitors, and available restaurant tables are rarer than sustainably caught salmon. This phenomenon is often attributed to TV chef and seafood connoisseur Rick Stein, to the extent that it is often dubbed “Padstein.”
Stein first showed the town in Taste of the Sea, broadcast in 1995. Since then, the harbour town has featured repeatedly in his programmes, elevated for its camera-ready coves and above all, “authenticity.” In the first instance, Stein probably did alight on something remarkable: this was the home of a declining industry, pulling in exquisitely fresh fish in an extraordinarily quaint setting. But the ensuing mania has long since eroded that initial charm. His investment in the area – some four restaurants alongside accommodation – has presumably entrenched his interest in the place. With that comes greater promotion (and more tourists).
This phenomenon has been repeated across the globe. Rick Steves took on Cinque Terre, while comedians like Jack Whitehall, Dara O’Brien, and Sue Perkins have explored Romania, the US, and Vietnam. An inordinate number of city breaks were taken by Richard Ayoade and latterly Joe Lycett in Travel Man, with each element eminently replicable down to pricing per activity. Its YouTube channel garners some two million views a month.
On the other hand, Anthony Bourdain’s programmes inspired many travellers to seek out under-the-radar dining experiences. The American chef’s effect might well be the same, especially for once under-the-radar spots. The travel magazine Skift cited an 88.8 per cent increase in internet searches for Sicily after an episode of Parts Unknown was filmed there. Many of the restaurants featured in his programme are far from unhappy; Bún chả Hương Liên, the restaurant in Hanoi where Bourdain ate with Barack Obama, now advertises itself as “Bun Cha Obama.”
While influencers might display the delights of a stylish, design-focussed hotel, many followers will not have the income to take the same trip themselves. The appeal of Joanna Lumley’s travelogues lies in their catering to older viewers who remember her as a model in the Sixties or her work as an actor in the intervening decades. A recent report by consultancy firm McKinsey found that baby boomers – those born between 1946-1964 – spent three times more than Gen
