On a global scale, the film and television industries have in recent years begun to be regarded not only as fields of entertainment and cultural production, but also as strategic tools that shape and direct tourism flows. With the widespread expansion of digital platforms, visual narratives do more than simply draw audiences into a story. They also recode cities, natural landscapes and cultural practices as destinations worth visiting. This trend, commonly referred to as screen tourism or film-induced tourism, has led states and local governments to view film and television productions as tourism instruments that are more effective and enduring than traditional promotional campaigns. Spain’s historic cities reaching millions of visitors through television series, or South Korea’s rising tourism demand alongside its export of popular culture, clearly demonstrate that the relationship between visual storytelling and travel motivation has now acquired a structural character.
In this context, numerous successful cases can be cited. For example, the impact of "Game of Thrones" on Dubrovnik continues to this day. However, the most comprehensive and systematic example in recent years has been the Korean Wave (Hallyu). Through the extensive export of content in music, television series and films, the Korean Wave has gradually evolved into a broad cultural and tourism ecosystem extending to tourism, consumer products, language and cultural learning, and national image-building. Since the late 1990s, the economic impact of the Korean Wave on South Korea has steadily increased. While it accounted for 0.2% of GDP ($1.87 billion) in 2004, this figure rose to $12.3 billion by 2019.
Türkiye ranks among the countries with the widest global reach in television series exports, with its productions sold to approximately 146 countries, placing it second worldwide after the United States, as shared by Turkish academic Burak Türten's 2024 study. The widespread global viewership of Turkish TV series now goes beyond being merely an export success of the audiovisual sector and deserves to be regarded as a strategic instrument influencing areas such as cultural diplomacy, nation branding, tourism and language learning. Over the past two decades, Turkish series have built a strong audience base across a vast geography stretching from the Middle East to the Balkans, and from Latin America to South Asia. By making Istanbul, the Bosphorus corridor, Cappadocia, Aegean towns and historical sites experientially accessible within narrative worlds, they have transformed Türkiye into not just a place to visit, but a familiar and recognizable world. This success has entailed not only a quantitative increase in exports, but also a reshaping of perceptions of Türkiye itself.
One of the early and symbolic examples of this transformation was "Magnificent Century." Centered on life in the Ottoman palace, the series sparked curiosity across a wide geography through its historical narrative and contributed to the renewed visibility of the aesthetic, political and cultural dimensions of the Ottoman heritage. The interest the series attracted in the Balkans, the Middle East and North Africa increased curiosity about Türkiye’s historical depth. Sites such as Topkapı Palace, Istanbul, and locations associated with Ottoman history entered the public imagination of broader audiences through the visual framework created by the series.
The production that carried this trajectory further through a more epic narrative was "Resurrection: Ertuğrul." The series did not merely present a historical account. By placing values such as justice, loyalty, sacrifice and a sense of community at its core, it established a strong emotional bond, particularly within Muslim societies. Audiences stretching from Pakistan to Indonesia, and from Central Asia to the Gulf countries, embraced the series as a cultural reference point. In these countries, the growing sympathy toward Türkiye did not remain limited to an abstract shift in perception. It also became tangible through increased interest in learning Turkish and a stronger desire to visit Türkiye. Indeed, numerous research findings indicate that in countries where the series was widely watched, demand for Turkish language courses rose and an increase in tourism interest toward Türkiye was observed.
The cultural diplomacy impact of Turkish TV series is not limited to historical narratives alone. Shaped on a more modern and political plane, "Valley of the Wolves" brought Türkiye’s recent political and geopolitical debates into global circulation through a dramatic narrative. Gaining a wide audience, particularly in the Middle East and the Balkans, the series made Türkiye’s perspective on state-power-nation relations visible through popular culture. In short, the Ottoman legacy, the modern nation-state experience, and contemporary political debates are being viewed across different geographies through different series, collectively triggering a multidimensional curiosity about Türkiye.
From the perspective of cultural diplomacy, the true value of television series lies not in one-way persuasion akin to direct advertising, but in their capacity to generate familiarity and a sense of intimacy through prolonged exposure. In other words, a series accomplishes something that conventional promotional films cannot: By repeatedly presenting spaces, everyday rhythms, repertoires of gestures and expressions, family relations, and value systems, it facilitates the formation of an emotional bond with the viewer and, through this bond, cultivates cultural familiarity. What is critical here, therefore, is the establishment of an emotional connection through the stories told in films and television series. This connection also eases proximity to language and culture. In this context, the emotional bond formed through Turkish TV series builds a sense of familiarity by repeatedly displaying Istanbul’s skyline, Anatolia’s historical sites and everyday life practices. This familiarity lays the emotional groundwork for tourism decisions. When factors such as flight availability and prices become favorable, demand can then translate into actual travel behavior.
This impact is not limited to tourists arriving from abroad. Television series also play a significant role in directing domestic tourism flows. In this context, with series such as "Hercai," "Sıla" and similar productions, the city of Mardin and its district Midyat have ceased to be merely places of historical or cultural value for domestic tourists and have instead become integral parts of a powerful narrative. During the periods when these series were broadcast, there were notable increases in cultural tours to southeastern Anatolia, and the mansion sets in Midyat turned into symbolic sites frequently visited by tourists. In the case of Cappadocia, television series are seen to have reshaped the perception of an already well-known destination. The process that began with "Asmalı Konak" transformed the region into a place with a story for domestic tourists. As a result, not only did visitor numbers increase, but lengths of stay also extended, and trips to the region moved beyond being merely day excursions. A particularly noteworthy new trend emerging alongside historical series has been the direct visitation of filming sets. Following "Resurrection: Ertuğrul" and its subsequent productions, film sets themselves have become standalone tourist attractions for domestic visitors.
Language is one of the most enduring dimensions of this process. Viewers who are exposed to Turkish through television series begin to perceive the language not merely as a technical tool of communication, but as a cultural gateway. Accordingly, the dimension of learning Turkish constitutes a highly critical threshold. Language is the point at which cultural proximity turns into a lasting bond. Everyday conversations, forms of address, music, and religious-cultural expressions render Turkish a learnable and familiar language. This dynamic becomes tangible through the rising demand for learning Turkish in countries where Turkish series are widely watched; language learning often continues through travel to Türkiye, education, or long-term cultural engagement. Learning the language together with the culture demonstrates that television series generate not short-lived popularity, but a long-term sphere of interaction.
Finally, within the Orientalist rhetoric that has persisted for centuries, the “East” has not been allowed to speak for itself. Instead, one-sided Western representations of the East have been produced – and continue to be produced. In this context, the role played by Hollywood films is well known. It is precisely at this point that the “East,” long deprived of the opportunity to speak, begins to tell its own stories through television series and films. Finding resonance with these narratives across the world, it stands as a historic opportunity.
In sum, the steadily increasing global viewership of Turkish television series clearly demonstrates that they have become not merely an economic export item, but an interconnected and therefore multilayered instrument of cultural and tourism diplomacy operating through history, politics, values and language. These series indirectly nourish Türkiye’s tourism capacity, stimulate interest in the Turkish language, and establish a foundation for long-term cultural bonds with the country. The impact is quite clear: Turkish TV series are evolving into a strategic tool that deepens Türkiye’s global visibility and consolidates its soft power.
