Perhaps we should start calling "Frozen" as "The Movie with the Golden Touch."
The movie itself has broken box office records and has toppled "Toy Story 3" from its top posiiton as the highest-grossing animated film in history. It has also spawned a hit soundtrack that has spent 27 consecutive weeks on the top of the Billboard soundtrack charts.
One of its songs, "Let It Go," has even won an Oscar for Best Original Song and has been parodied and covered in many different ways by people of all walks of life. Not only that, the dresses inspired by the lead characters, Queen Elsa and Princess Anna, has sold out and run out of stock.
And now, it appears that the setting that has inspired the beautiful landscape featured in the animated film is also benefiting from the "Frozen" craze. According to Time, fans of the Disney hit movie "are traveling in droves" to visit Norway.
"U.S. tourism to the country that inspired the film's settings have increased substantially. Hotel bookings in the first quarter of the year were up 37% from 2013, and tour operators have experienced a 40% sales increase," the news source said, quoting Visit Norway's Harald Hansen. "The fjord regions, which tend to display the Northern Lights, are particularly popular."
This may have also been encouraged by Disney's advertising of its Norwegian cruises on their site, promising "an exciting opportunity to experience the part of the world that inspired the Disney animated film 'Frozen.'"
This phenomenon isn't a recent occurrence. It has been observed as early as three months ago, as detailed by a piece featured on NPR.
"Since the movie was released, visits to Norway's tourism site have more than tripled," the site said. "Travel search engines are also reporting increased interest."
"Whether all this interest translates into actual visits probably won't be clear until the summer. But if Scotland's experience is any indication, the outlook is good. That country embarked on a similar partnership with Disney upon the release of 'Brave' in 2012. Now tourism officials there say 'Brave'-related visits are expected to bring in $200 million over the next five years," NPR's Sidsel Overgaard added.
Looks like the setting for "Frozen 2" will be anywhere but Norway, for the second time.