ArtsThai resorts ride on the White Lotus effect
Hit series shows how popular TV culture is increasingly driving tourism flows
Tourists relax on Chaweng Beach, on Koh Samui's eastern coast, on March 2024. The Thai island is expecting a tourism bump from the popular TV series "The White Lotus," which was filmed there. © Getty Images
KOH SAMUI, Thailand -- "'The White Lotus' will put Thailand, and particularly Koh Samui, back on the map," says Jasjit Assi, general manager of the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui, a hotel in the Thai island resort that served as the main location for the third season of the hugely successful TV series, launched in February.