Bollywood Tourism: Inspired by movie stars, fans are travelling the world

Palat…Palat…Palat! If you get this — you have officially watched DDLJ an unhealthy number of times. (Like the rest of us). Thirty years on, iconic Saanen bridge in Switzerland still pulls tourists in droves, earning the nickname Palat Bridge.

Bollywood tourism maybe a micro trend in the realm of film tourism but it has seen a steady rise in demand over the years. With location hunters scouring the world for new, exciting destinations, the footfall for this brand of tourism now spans Croatia (Fan), Greece (Chalte Chalte, Bang Bang!), Turkey (Ek Tha Tiger, Dil Dhadakne Do), the US (Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, Kal Ho Na Ho), Scotland (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Bar Bar Dekho), Australia (Dil Chahta Hai, Salam Namaste), Spain (Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara)...

The last, starring Hrithik Roshan, Katrina Kaif, Abhay Deol, Farhan Akhtar and Kalki Koechlin, reportedly boosted tourism in Spain with groups of friends, bachelor and bachelorette party gangs making a beeline for it, exploring adventure sports and festivals like La Tomatina in smaller towns such as Bunol. Certain scenes, such as the one where the cast goes deep sea diving in Costa Brava, the Gothic Quarter in Barcelona, the Bull Festival in Pamplona continue to capture the movie-going audiences attention and in a way act like brochures for the destination.

Taking advantage of this, many governments have started luring film crews with incentives like refundable tax credit. Among them is Singapore, where movies like Krish 3, Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya and Dear Zindagi have been shot. Markus Tan, regional director, India, Middle East, South Asia, and Africa (IMESA) - Singapore Tourism says, “Back in the 1960s, Bollywood’s Singapore, starring the ever-charming Shammi Kapoor, first brought the city’s vibrant allure to the big screen. The Kannada classic Singaporenalli Raja Kulla, released in the late Seventies, carried that fascination forward. Since then, the cinematic connection between India and Singapore has only grown stronger.” Productions over the years have introduced travellers to not just to One Fullerton Promenade, Universal Studios but also to Henderson Waves, Victoria Theatre, the National Gallery, and Anderson Bridge.

“Singapore is constantly evolving, offering something new each time the camera rolls. To keep this creative exchange thriving, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) launched the S$10 million Singapore On-screen Fund in 2023. The initiative supports global studios and storytellers in bringing their projects to life here. It also opens doors for collaboration between local and international talent,” says Markus, adding that Singapore may be compact, but it’s bursting with possibilities; a dynamic blend of futuristic cityscapes, architectural wonders, and cultural diversity, all within a seamless and supportive production ecosystem. With world-class infrastructure, cutting-edge technology and efficient logistics, the city offers everything a filmmaker needs to tell stories that travel.

But in the beginning, there was Switzerland. Film maker Yash Chopra brought this scenic landscape — with its rolling hills, wooden chalets, and snow covered peaks — to Indian screens and soon Switzerland became an aspirational holiday and honeymoon spot. His films like Chandni, Darr, Dil Toh Pagal Hai among others had parts of it or songs shot here. There is a bronze statue of the filmmaker in Interlaken, Jungfrau Railway has a train named after him, and Lake Lauenen is referred to as Lake Chopra by many.

According to tour experts and travel guides, it was DDLJ — directed by Aditya Chopra (Yash Chopra’s son) that actually started the trend of Bollywood tourism. Youngsters dreamt of setting off on a Euro trip and meeting the Raj/ Simran of their lives, or just dancing and wandering along the cobblestoned streets. Over 300 films have been shot here, and these also comprise those in regional languages like Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Bengali.

Sathya Narayanan, who started Ruci AG in Saanen, a company that owns an ice cream factory, restaurants, destination management, and travel company, says that guests who would come to his restaurant started asking about Bollywood film locations around the area. That led him to start Bollywood tours in 2018. “While locations for Chandni, Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, Dhadkan, Hero No 1, Bachna Ae Haseeno, are on the tour list, people mainly ask for DDLJ tours. We take them to Gstaad where the horse carriage scenes from a song were shot, Luzern, Interlaken, Lauenen, to Saanen church, train station, and bridge. We involve our clients, recreate scenes from the movie with them, click around 300 photographs; they are the stars of the tour,” says Sathya, adding that during tours many have also proposed to their significant other at these locations. There are two trips: an express tour spanning 90 minutes and a full tour that takes three hours.

Before setting up the tour and finalising the itinerary, Sathya and his team spent five months watching movies and discovering locations. And it is not just Indians, but movie lovers from all over including the US, the UK, Bangladesh, Pakistan, West Asia, Australia etc, who sign up for these tours. A lot of clients, Sathya says, come from Zurich and other parts of Switzerland as well.

Ipsita Barua, a former resident of Zurich, did a DDLJ location visit with Erwin Tours of Switzerland in 2023. She was accompanied by her parents. Her father, she says, is a huge movie buff. But 28 years after the release of the movie then, what was it that drew her to the tour? “I had always fantasised about visiting locations of iconic Bollywood movies,” she says adding that during the time of DDLJ’s release in 1995, she met her partner in school. Called the Raj and Simran of their school, they are now married to each other. But unfortunately her “Raj” could not join her for the trip, “so there were no flowy chiffon saris or running after missed trains,” she laughs. She also visited the hotel in Interlaken that was in the movie Sangam, and Gruyere and Castle Hunegg, where a song from Simmba was picturised.

Erwin Fässler, who started Erwin Tours in 2012 in Switzerland says he started hunting for these locations way back in 2008. A Shah Rukh Khan fan, he watches Bollywood movies on a German cable channel every Friday night. He offers six different Bollywood tours — starting in different parts of the country with duration varying between nine hours to two days — and he personally drives his guests in his Range Rover. The number one tour is the DDLJ Tour, he says, followed by the King of Romance tours — a homage to Yash Chopra and Yash Raj films. Locations for movies like Sangam, An Evening in Paris, Hum Aapke Dil Main Rehte Hai, Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge, Yaraana etc are also covered by him.

Every time Erwin watches a movie filmed in his country, he takes multiple screenshots and sets out looking for those exact spots. But despite all the different movies, he chose to stick to Bollywood as he has a personal connection with India. “I lived there for a year in the 1980s,” he says. Erwin hopes that someday the Badshah of Bollywood will join his tour.

Erwin notices interesting patterns during these trips. “Most of my clients are between the ages of 30 and 50. A couple celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary with us and the first movie they watched after marriage was DDLJ. There is the generation that was in their 20s and fell in love the first time they watched the film. Now they have adult kids and come with them. Then there are children who grew up with their parents watching these movies and now want to experience the spots.”

Sathya says that Bollywood tours have been instrumental in getting people to explore lesser known destinations. It has also worked as a bonding experience where parents introduce their children to their favourite movies. He adds amused, “And sometimes there are kids who watch their parents embarrassing themselves doing scenes from the movies, like running behind an imaginary train.”