SET Congress: an innovative and unique congress in Europe
On May 9, 2025, Bilbao hosted the SET Congress (Screen in Emotional Tourism). It was the first European congress dedicated to screen tourism. The event took place alongside the Expovacaciones fair at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre (BEC). More than a hundred professionals from the audiovisual, tourism and public sectors attended. Together, they explored the growing potential of this segment, a key driver of innovation for European destinations.
Key highlights in 2025: Vivential Value and Lorens
Ana Alonso, congress director and founder of The Travelling Set, made one of the main announcements. She introduced the creation of a European Screen Tourism Observatory. This initiative aims to measure and analyze the impact of audiovisual productions on tourism appeal. She also unveiled an innovative SaaS platform, developed in partnership with Lorens. Its goal: to help destinations turn their cinematic heritage into real tourism products.
Aubry Minotti, president of Lorens, emphasized that cinema is above all a cultural lens through which territories reveal their identity. He pointed out the difference with traditional “screen tourism”, often limited to visiting filming locations. Lorens’ approach, by contrast, celebrates entire destinations through their cinematic image. Lorens has already deployed its experiences in Madrid, Toledo, Seville, Almería and Lyon. Its structured concept features over 4,000 sequences from 130 years of cinema. Guests access them via tablets, QR codes and immersive projections.
SET Congress in Bilbao: a growing sector
A study presented at the congress revealed that 40% of Spanish travelers are interested in screen-related tourism experiences. Moreover, one-third would pay more for such cultural products. These findings will feed into the new Observatory and strengthen the Screen Tourism Intelligence System (SIT) developed by Vivential Value.
The SET Congress marked an essential milestone in uniting European stakeholders around a shared strategy. The aim: to promote screen tourism as a sustainable driver of territorial development.
