From TV Fan to Film Tourism Pioneer Georgette Blau’s Joruney

Episode Overview

In this episode of TravelPreneur, Meghan McSwain sits down with Georgette Blau, the president of On Location Tours, to explore the fascinating world of film tourism. On Location Tours brings iconic TV shows and movies to life through exclusive sightseeing tours in some of America’s most renowned cities. Georgette shares her journey of transforming a small venture into one of the largest TV and movie tour companies worldwide. Listen in as we delve into how the company started, the challenges faced during the pandemic, and the exciting expansions into new cities like Chicago and Atlanta. Discover how On Location Tours continues to thrive and innovate in the ever-evolving travel industry.

Lessons You’ll Learn

This episode is a goldmine of insights for anyone interested in the travel or entertainment industry. You’ll learn how Georgette Blau identified a unique niche and grew her company from a single van operation to a multi-city enterprise. Discover the importance of customization and customer service in maintaining a high-quality tour experience. Georgette also discusses the impact of the pandemic on the business and how they adapted to overcome these challenges. Additionally, you’ll gain valuable advice on entering the film tourism industry, emphasizing the need for constant updates and innovation to keep tours fresh and engaging.

About Our Guest

Georgette Blau is the visionary president of On Location Tours, a pioneering company in the field of film tourism. With a passion for TV and movie locations, Georgette launched the company in 1999 after noticing iconic TV show locations in her New York neighborhood. Over the past 25 years, she has expanded the business to include tours in cities like Boston, Chicago, and soon Atlanta. Georgette’s dedication to creating immersive and engaging experiences has earned On Location Tours nearly a five-star rating across the board. She is also the founder of the Association for TV and Movie Tours, promoting the growth and unity of the film tourism industry globally.

Topics Covered

In this episode, we cover a range of topics essential to understanding the success and operation of On Location Tours. Georgette discusses the inspiration behind starting the company and the initial steps she took to launch it. We delve into the complexities of managing a widespread operation, including the challenges of customer service and logistics. Georgette shares her strategies for keeping tours fresh, such as regularly updating tour content and using an app to track current filming locations. We also explore the future of film tourism, the role of technology, and the potential expansion into international markets like Toronto.

Our Guest:Georgette Blau

Episode Transcript

 Meghan McSwain: Welcome back to another episode of travel Preneur, where we explore the cutting edge of the travel industry. I’m your host, Meghan McSwain. Today we’re diving into the world of film tourism with an extraordinary guest, Georgette Blau, the president of On Location Tours. This company is a pioneer in bringing your favorite TV shows and movies to life through exclusive sightseeing tours in some of America’s most iconic cities. Georgette, welcome to the show.

 Georgette Blau: Thank you for having me.

 Meghan McSwain: Georgette, can you share with us what inspired you to start on location tours and just the journey of growing it into one of the world’s largest TV and movie tour companies?

 Georgette Blau: Yes, absolutely. I was actually had just graduated college and moved to New York, , two years after college into the area of the Upper East Side,, well known for where George and Weezie lived in the classic TV show The Jeffersons. So I was walking up East 86th one day. , East 86th Street. And in fact, I was working in publishing. , just kind of had an interest in TV locations, especially classic ones. And I’m like, wait, I live right in where The Jeffersons moved on up to and,, then started noticing so many other TV locations in New York. , so that was in 98. In 1999, exactly 25 years ago,, I launched on location tours in a van so very small, , only with a TV tour. And then over the years brought it to, , you know, to include TV shows and movies and then to have specialty tours, which I’m sure we’ll discuss later, but such as the Sopranos tour, Tour, the sex and the city tour, the Gossip Girl tour, and so on.

 Meghan McSwain: Wow. So now you operate in multiple cities and serve over 100,000 tourists. That’s no small feat. How do you manage the complexities of running such a wide spread operation at this point?

 Georgette Blau: Yeah, yeah. So in fact, , the really,, the challenging thing in the last few years was the pandemic put us sort of back to square one. So I was there even helping with phones and customers again. So I was having trouble kind of developing the company. But that being said, in the past year, exactly a year ago, we launched our Chicago movie tours,, two tours actually in Chicago. So we have New York, Boston, Chicago, and in a few weeks we’re launching Atlanta. There’s been a ton of filming there. So it’s really what really keeps us apart from others is really the customization. And with that comes the complexities of customer service. So we have, oh my gosh, the day to day challenges of just yes, a lot of other tour companies deal with this, but like making sure we’re on private tours, picking up at the correct place, , you know, arranging the driver,, arranging the vehicle. We have a couple of our own vehicles, but, you know, sometimes we have to charter out, , making sure it’s a driver who’s done the tours before. I mean, the list goes on and on and on. , and on our public tours, you have even more challenges with having, you know, 20 or 40 different sets of customers. , and some of them will be running late to a tour or some of them. , want to hop off early, and we may have to tell them that, you know, their insurance. Issues with that? , you know, sometimes we have, like, a bachelorette party that wants to customize. So there’s it’s just never a dull day.

 Meghan McSwain: It’s  a lot of moving parts. It sounds like.

 Georgette Blau: 100%. Yeah. Which may which makes it fun, but it’s also, , you know, definitely challenging. And we, you know, we have, , we’re proud to say that we have, , almost a five star rating across the board, but it takes a lot of work to get to that and a lot of, a lot of, , customer attention. And also, like, customers don’t read things that they should be reading. So they come to us and say, you know, , whatever questions you’re asking, we’re like, you know, or maybe complaining about, , I had no idea that XYZ and we’re like, it’s all in the terms and conditions that you signed, you know.

 Meghan McSwain: And you mentioned, , you know, the specialty tours, you’ve curated these variety of tours from sex and the city hot spots to Central Park TV and movie sites. What goes into designing these unique experiences, like how do you keep them fresh and engaging for new and returning visitors?

 Georgette Blau: Yeah, great.. Great question. Because we have two things. When we start a tour, we do not start a tour unless there’s a certain amount of locations clustered in an area. We also have to make sure of a number of other things. One , there’s certain IP rights. Number two, there’s, , you know, if it’s really a specialty tour number two, you know, is it of enough interest, is there enough interest out there? Nber three internationally, is there enough interest because that’s an entirely that’s approximately 40% of our business. So we want to make sure it’s catered to international. How do we market to the internationals eventually. Like for example they  internationally we have  often have like different names for the shows like sex and the city is called sex and sex in New York and different areas. , so that’s another thing. , what we do also with our general, , signature tours like the NYC TV and movie tours, the Boston TV and movie tours, the Chicago movie, TV and movie tours is that every 3 to 4 months we actually update them. So to keep them fresh, , and even if it’s people’s first time on a tour, we make sure that the most recent items are included, including what’s filming that day, , or that week. We actually own an app called What’s Filming Now? And it’s the only one in the world that actually tells you what’s filming near you. So people are really interested in that. So it’s user generated. , but we’re able to then talk about that on the tours and , we just try to like keep, you know, we add like 2 to 3 movies every 3 to 4 months or TV show locations just to keep it fresh.

 Meghan McSwain: Right. And you founded the Association for TV and Movies Tours. Can you tell us more about that mission, or the mission of the organization and how it supports the film tourism industry?

 Georgette Blau: Yes, absolutely. So it’s interesting, when we first started in,, 99, , we were the third company in the world to do this sort of thing after The Sound of Music and Hawaii movie tours and, , by now they’re actually over 100, approximately 110,, movie tours in the world. So there’s like the jp has been huge. The association hasn’t been as active like in the last couple of years because of Covid. But right before Covid, we actually had a our first ever, , conference. , it was only maybe under ten companies. It was small, but we just went on tours in New York. We generated so many, like, great brainstorm sessions and ideas and things, you know, challenges that we have in common that some of those challenges are for every tour company, but really in particular for us and the growing phenomenon of, , TV and movie tourism. , it’s definitely not going to slow down. So we feel like by having this association kind of, , meetings and talks every once in a while, we’re just sort of like not only sharing common ideas, but showing everyone in the world that we’re together, you know, we’re together in this.

 Meghan McSwain: We’re united. And yeah, it does sort of help to bounce those ideas off and move it. Move forward. Yes. And considering the surge in tourism following the use of locations and films, which obviously has been going back decades, how does on location tours capitalize on this trend effectively?

 Georgette Blau: Yeah. So it’s interesting. I mean, one thing I’ll say also, if you go back, for example, to 1950s New York, you see the locations were mainly on stages, , interior stages. And then you have it going to the 1970s where you have, , films like the Al Pacino movies like Scarface, where you have them out on the streets all of a sudden and then fast forward another 20 years to the 90s. You have shows like sex and the city that are all of a sudden inside these locations, so you’re not filming as much on the lots, you’re actually filming the interiors, which is really interesting, and it’s been helpful not to have to necessarily set up a studio space, like you have this space there. You may just have to change it a little bit. We really, , in our little way, we’re helping all the businesses along the way. So people love when we come to them, because a lot of times it’s a shop where people are actually shop. , or they’ll maybe like in the case of The Sopranos, they’ll buy a beer or onion rings at a location. So we’re just kind of helping the businesses along the way. And these are all pretty much all off the beaten path locations that people don’t normally get to when they’re in these cities, just kind of with the nature of where filming is. So they really just love seeing these locations and we love taking them there.

 Meghan McSwain: Right? Instead of like them. It’s not going to be something that’s like, right? In Times Square, for example, it’s going to be in a different neighborhood. They might not not be going to. Exactly.

 Georgette Blau: Yep. Yeah.

 Meghan McSwain: As a speaker at international conferences on film tourism, what major changes have you observed in the sector over the years, and how has on location tours adapted to these changes?

 Georgette Blau: Oh really? Just like what I was just saying about more interior filming, more exterior and interior filming. Like really the whole idea of, , filming on location., we’re interested in a little bit worried into,, I, we don’t think there’ll be a slowdown for a while, but, , you know, we’ll see what’s actually going to come of that with, , and some, some cinematography is already, , used that for locations. But at these conferences I’ve been able to really again, the united feeling is great. And also just seeing like the unbelievable growth, it’s not going to slow down. Like film tourism is here to stay. And people, whether they’re doing it as in a group or, you know, going on their own. I mean, people will often book a trip based on what they’re seeing in TV shows and in movies. , and I’ve been able to learn a lot, , through these conferences, even academically, sort of like of how to create tours, , in a climactic way, like where you’re kind of building up through the tour and in choosing the locations toward the end that may be, you know, if it’s possible along the route that may be more exciting. And it’s just overall so interesting to us that, again, the people are so much of their trips are being influenced by what they’re seeing on the big and small screens, and then they just kind of arrive to these cities wide eyed, and usually they’re it’s pretty much on par with what they’ve seen in those shows and movies. But they’re a little disappointed, like the friends building where, , , yeah, it looks a little bit smaller in person. Not sure if Monica could have really afforded it, but.

 Meghan McSwain: Right. All that. Yeah. That’s another rabbit hole.

 Georgette Blau: Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

 Meghan McSwain: What future projects or expansions are you considering for on location tours, if any? Because I know you mentioned you’re obviously always keeping things up to date as fresh as possible with like, there’s always new movies and shows being filmed, but are there any other ideas that you’ve got planned for the future?

 Georgette Blau:  yes. We’re actually, , after Atlanta, we want to to our first international tour in Toronto. Toronto has been a backdrop for so many,, films and TV shows, especially films, and we just feel like it would be a great city to, , start in.

 Meghan McSwain: . And for someone eager to enter this sort of very niche industry of film tourism, what advice would you offer based on your own experiences?

 Georgette Blau: One of the main pieces of advice is really it’s the opposite of a history tour. History has already happened. With history, you’re pretty much almost never have to update tours. You really have to be ready to have the resources to always be on top of things. Always researching, always being able to update these tours, locations, , information for the script. So you just have to be ready to have that time. , also, , a lot of it again, is just like typical of tours in general and attractions, I would say in the different cities, just being prepared to have all those moving parts deal with vehicles, , deal with weather, with walking tours. , we only hire actors for our tours, so they kind of share their time, , on the set with customers and the tours. But then we have to literally usually interview about 100 local actors to get to 1 or 2 people. That’s how choosy we are. So just that whole there’s, you know, again, may seem fun on the surface, but the day to day is sometimes tough. Sure, but.

 Meghan McSwain: I like that sort of touch to use an actor, because then they can offer all this inside information that you wouldn’t get from just a tour guide, maybe, who knows the city, but to to be able to talk to a real actor and ask about the set and kind of what goes into a day of shooting and all of that, that’s really cool.

 Georgette Blau: Exactly.

 Meghan McSwain: Looking forward, how do you envision the intersection of technology and film tourism evolving, and what do you think the role of On Location Tours has in this development?

 Georgette Blau: I would say just that, , on one hand, I could be if it’s showing like a real location, people may visit it. I mean, one example that comes to mind is an older example, but the soup kitchen, the soup Nazi soup kitchen from Seinfeld, they never filmed there, but people go there all the time. It was a film tourism. It is a film tourism location, but again, they never filmed there. The Empire State was like inspired.

 Meghan McSwain: By that place or. Exactly. Okay, this is not true. It’s inspired by the real soup.

 Georgette Blau: Same rule. Same. You know, they even have the footprints there and everything, which is fun. But people go there because of the show. Sure, but that’s similar to I if you’re talking about real locations. The other thing I think is that, , all of the, you know, you can’t erase 100 years of filmmaking and TV shows, so people will still be traveling for things they’ve seen. You know, I don’t think there’ll be a slowdown for maybe 20 to 30 years from now. , right. You know, and again, we’re not sure if the AI will relocate or not. , but we’ll see. Or if it’ll be, like a mixture.

 Meghan McSwain: Well, I feel like especially right now with just the surge of shows and miniseries and stuff like that on streaming services, it just seems like everyone’s watching TV, like everyone’s watching the same shows. It seems like something will trend and then everybody’s kind of on that bandwagon. So then that show becomes really successful and then it just like lives in, in this space for a very long time because people catch up to it and they can always catch it on streaming. So I think that’s really interesting because it’s not like how TV was 20 years ago, where if you miss the show, you gotta wait. Yeah, yeah. Or if you didn’t record it or something on a VCR.

 Georgette Blau: You’re right. You’re like, oh no, it’s not repeating. Or when, when is it going to repeat?

 Meghan McSwain: Yeah. When are you going to catch up with everybody else? So that was like I remember sex in the city. I never watched it live because I was just younger at that time, so I had to watch it way later when it was on DVD or HBO streaming or whatever. So that’s really interesting. But I could imagine you get a surge of new and people who probably weren’t even born when the show was originally airing now kind of interested in it and wanting to take the tour. So I do think that there is going to be years and years of business, you know, for you because and yeah.

 Georgette Blau: , sex and the city actually just came on to Netflix, which is great. But it is funny because we’ve had some tour guides recently interview for that tour and, and say to whoever’s interviewing them from the company, say, oh, , yeah. My mother used to watch that show and like, when I was three years old, I’m like, okay, get out, out, out out out out. Right. Interviews done.

 Meghan McSwain: It’s unbelievable. I know I’ve noticed that too, that there’s just like this surge of new fans that are like, we’re the 90s, really like this. Or were the 2000, I was like, oh my goodness, that’s wild. Yeah, yeah. Well, thank you so much, Georgette, for talking us. I’m such a fan of TV and movie shoots and all this kind of stuff, so I found that just totally fascinating. And, , I think, you know, you have a really cool sort of,, way of intersecting technology with,, with film tourism. And I think it’s just only going to get better. Let our followers know where they can learn more about on location tours, where they can sign up for one if they would like to take one, and where they can connect with you.

 Georgette Blau: Yes. So just,, real easy. Website on location tours.com again on location tours.com. It’s really easy to get on book the tours. , we always say it takes 2 to 3 minutes to book a tour, so it’s really, really easy.

 Meghan McSwain: Okay, great. And , did you want to share a LinkedIn or anywhere where people can learn more about your background or you’ve been you’re a veteran in this business, so I’m sure you have a lot to offer.

 Georgette Blau: Oh thank you. Yes, it’s Georgette blue. It’s blue. , even just George Jetson, a common name. So Georgette blue. And then all of our social handles are, , at on location tours. So it’s. That’s pretty easy as well.

 Meghan McSwain: Great. Perfect. Well, thank you so much. And to our,, to our listeners, please remember to subscribe and leave or leave us a review that really helps us a lot. And join us next time for more insights into the travel industry here on Travel Preneur. Take care. Georgette.

 Georgette Blau: Thank you so much.