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Agence France-Presse

Reuters

Standing on the ferry as it waits to dock on the Greek island of Ithaca, Giorgia Ongarato is only too keen to talk about the Odyssey – the epic poem about a hero battling his way back home from the Trojan War that inspired Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster film.
The Italian lawyer says it was her dream to come to Ithaca, widely believed to be the same island as the home of Odysseus in the poem.
Dressed in a T-shirt emblazoned with “odyssey” in ancient Greek alongside a line from the poem, she enthuses: “I studied Greek when I was a child, and I studied the Odyssey.”
The 50-year-old is also a fan of Nolan’s film, describing it as “wonderful”.

The island’s businesses and officials now expect the film to inspire many more to follow in her footsteps. They are not alone.
The tiny Italian Mediterranean island of Favignana off Sicily’s western coast – which stands in for Ithaca in Nolan’s blockbuster – also hopes to attract more visitors but wants to avoid falling into the trap of overtourism. The largest of the Egadi Islands, Favignana is home to around 3,000 people.
With support from Sicily’s culture department and Universal Pictures, a permanent exhibition could open as early as October at the former Florio tuna-processing plant, which served as the production’s headquarters.
“The idea is to allow visitors to experience the different stages of the production and see some of the costumes and equipment used in the movie,” Favignana mayor Giuseppe Pagoto says.

The real Ithaca is not a regular tourist stop
The “real” Ithaca, in the Ionian Sea off the west coast of mainland Greece, is far from the country’s tourist hubs, and despite limpid waters and spectacular bays, it has never been a regular stop for travellers.
Its interior is rugged, carpeted with olive and cypress trees, and strikingly calm even at the height of the tourist season.
Although the movie has undoubtedly piqued the interest of many, it has also been slightly controversial in Greece. Although some Greek locations were used, not a single scene in the blockbuster was actually shot on Ithaca.
That decision has left some crestfallen on the island also of roughly 3,000 inhabitants, where the film has been shown twice in open-air screenings since its July 16 worldwide release.
Xhimi Xoxha, who runs a restaurant in Ithaca’s capital of Vathi, says he is content that the movie is already “generating publicity for the island”. He predicts the positive effects will continue.

While Ithaca mayor Dionysis Stanitsas agrees that the publicity was “tremendous”, he could not hide his disappointment that the island itself did not feature.
“We had reached out to the production team and asked that some scenes be filmed here on the island,” he says. “Unfortunately, that wasn’t feasible.”
He is, however, counting on rising demand next year, and the island was already fully booked for this season by the time the film came out.
“As more people see it, they will begin planning trips to visit the island,” he says.
Homages to the poem
Visitors will not find a palace of Odysseus or any spectacular archaeological site likely to confirm the existence of the Homeric hero. In the film, the Castello di Santa ‌Caterina, a fortress atop Favignana’s highest hill, serves as the hero’s palace.
But village squares and the town hall in Ithaca are dotted with statues of Odysseus and Homer. And there are other pointers to the island’s rich literary heritage. In the small sun-drenched port, boats bob in the green water bearing names like “Telemachus”, the son of Odysseus, and “Calypso”, a goddess and nymph who imprisoned him.
Trinket shops offer busts of Homer and Penelope, Odysseus’s wife. T-shirts can be found amid the jumble featuring the Cyclops Polyphemus – one of the many monsters vanquished by Odysseus.
The truly devoted can splash out for a wall plate decorated with a Trojan Horse.

Archaeologist Spyros Couvaras is among those expecting a dramatic upsurge in visitors, saying it was clear people wanted more than just sand and sea – they wanted the history and the mythology.
None of those is in short supply here.
A little way from the shops and restaurants of the port, holidaymakers stretch out on deck chairs under parasols at Dexia Beach, enveloped by the sound of cicadas. According to legend, this is where Odysseus landed after years of voyaging.
Couvaras says the “driving force” of the renewed interest was undoubtedly the movie: “But behind Nolan’s film stands Homer.”
‘Zendaya would sit in the square reading a book’
Film tourism is a growing factor in the travel industry. The UN World Tourism Organization estimates that destinations featured in hit films can boost visitor numbers by 25 to 40 per cent, while consultancy Future Market Insights forecasts the sector could be ‌worth almost US$157.5 billion globally by 2036.
The production team for The Odyssey spent several months on Favignana between late 2024 and spring 2025, employing about 500 ⁠extras and workers.
Pagoto estimates that the shoot ⁠generated between €1 million (US$1.16 million) and €2 million in local spending.
Giacomo Incarbona, whose three-star hotel hosted members of the hair and make-up departments, says he was struck by the relationship that developed between the production teams and islanders.
“Nolan would cycle ‌through town and greet everyone. Hollywood actress Zendaya, who played Athena, would sit in the square reading a book,” says Incarbona, who is also the head of the local hotel operators’ ‌association.

International investors from North America, the Middle East and India have approached the municipality about high-end tourism opportunities ‌ahead ‌of the 2027 season, Pagoto says.
The abandoned former Valtur holiday village is due to be redeveloped as a five-star resort, while the historic Palazzotto Florio in the island’s main square ‌is being converted into a luxury hospitality project scheduled to open in June 2027.
“For years, people renovated homes and turned them into B&Bs. Now we are seeing entrepreneurs invest in ⁠and redevelop major assets across the island,” Pagoto says.
Preparing for the film tourists
Favignana is keen to avoid the curse of overtourism that has strained established destinations including Venice, Florence and the Dolomites.
“A shock wave could ⁠hurt us,” Incarbona says, hoping the film would extend the tourist season rather than drive a surge in visitor numbers at peak times.
The population can already swell from 3,000 to between 40,000 and 50,000 on summer days, putting pressure on services.
“We will have to prepare for growing demand, starting with beach cleaning,” Pagoto says.

The ‌municipality has installed 200 mooring buoys around the island ‌to stop boats anchoring close to shore and is considering further measures to regulate visitor flows.
One option is to tie permits for vehicles brought onto the island to a minimum-stay requirement. Authorities want to raise the average visit from five or six days to between 10 and 15 days.
Emanuela Amico, a frequent visitor from Rome, says Favignana currently feels largely as it always had.
“It hasn’t changed much so far,” she says. “The castle is newly illuminated at night, and fishermen offering boat tours are eager to tell visitors about the production and point out where scenes were filmed.”


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Tourists disembark from a boat after returning from nearby beaches on the island of Ithaca on August 3, 2026. Ithaca is widely believed to be the home of the hero Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey. Photo: AFP

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A view of Dexia Beach, on the island of Ithaca. Photo: AFP

A bust of Odysseus stands in the central square of Stavros, Ithaca. Photo: AFP

The Castello di Santa Caterina, a fortress atop Favignana’s highest hill, served as the hero’s palace in Nolan’s film.   Photo: Reuters 

Boats float in the waters off Favignana. Photo: Reuters

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Travel & Leisure

A jump in visitors is expected in Ithaca, believed to be Odysseus’ home in the poem, and Favignana, its stand-in in the recent blockbuster


A jump in visitors is expected in Ithaca, believed to be Odysseus’ home in the poem, and Favignana, its stand-in in the recent blockbuster.


Are these Odyssey islands prepared for tourist surge in wake of new film?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}A jump in visitors is expected in Ithaca, believed to be Odysseus’ home in the poem, and Favignana, its stand-in in the recent blockbuster

A jump in visitors is expected in Ithaca, believed to be Odysseus’ home in the poem, and Favignana, its stand-in in the recent blockbuster