How The Polygamist’s Netflix Success Shows Africa’s Untapped Tourism Opportunity

Screen tourism is the growing trend among movie lovers where travellers visit places they have seen in movies or television series.

Screen tourism isn’t just about entertainment; it’s an economic strategy. It creates jobs, fills hotels, supports local businesses and strengthens a country’s global image.

The recent movie The Polygamist has become a global Netflix success, reaching number two in Netflix’s Global Top 10 Non English Shows, with 7.7 million views and 74.3 million hours viewed during the week of June 15 to 21 2026.

This success demonstrates the growing power of African stories to reach the international stage.

Destinations On Screen

According to an American Express Travel study, 70% of Gen Z and Millennials have been inspired to visit a destination after seeing it on screen.

Around the world, countries are already turning cinematic success into tourism growth.

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For example, Game of Thrones. The series transformed Dubrovnik into the real life King’s Landing and helps attract around 350,000 visitors to Northern Ireland every year, generating more than Ksh 8.7 billion per year.

New Zealand also experienced a tourism boost after The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Tourist Attraction

Many filming locations were preserved as tourist attractions, with sites such as Hobbiton continuing to attract visitors from around the world years after the films were released.

Achieving such requires collaboration between governments, tourism boards, film commissions and the private sector to market filming locations and invest in visitor experiences.

African countries could also aim for the same. Many African countries have a lot of beautiful tourist destinations and promoting screen tourism can be a win in terms of revenue earned.

Producing great films and series is only the first step. The real opportunity is to turn filming locations into destinations through guided tours, immersive experiences, themed stays and cultural routes that continue attracting visitors long after a film’s release.

Tourism In Africa

Africa already has breathtaking landscapes and powerful stories waiting to be discovered. The challenge isn’t beauty, it’s turning these stories into destinations.

From the streets of Johannesburg to the landscapes of Senegal, Morocco, Namibia and Kenya, Africa has everything it needs to build the next generation of screen tourism.

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The future of African cinema isn’t just about winning awards or topping Netflix charts.

It can be about turning such stories into destinations that may attract more tourists.

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Elephants in a safari in Kenya and a picture of Capetown South Africa
PHOTO/Africa First