Sex and the City
More than 50% of 'Sex and the City 2' is set in the desert oasis of Abu Dhabi, a beautiful and exotic locale where every wish and command of the four ladies is met by a team of charming Middle Eastern butlers. Well, not every wish. Samantha is detained for inappropriate sexual behavior on a beach, and the women consistently feel stifled by the mores of the religious country, often making a joke about it, but still creating an image of Abu Dhabi as beautiful and exotic but utterly foreign and perhaps even dangerous for Americans.

So it remains to be seen whether or not 'SATC2' will be a boon or a bust for Abu Dhabi's emerging international tourism industry. When Peter Jackson filmed the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy in the picturesque mountains and rolling hills of New Zealand, interest spiked as audiences were introduced to the beautiful island country. The success of the films even launched a cottage industry of 'Rings'-related tourism, where tour companies focused on the creation, locations and process of making the films. The 'Harry Potter' series has had a similar effect on tourism in the United Kingdom.

Obviously, seeing a beautiful location on screen helps to tempt travelers to visit. But there's a problem for Abu Dhabi -- the movie wasn't filmed there. It was filmed on location in Morocco, and for that reason, Abu Dhabi's tourism bureau doesn't think the film will do much to boost their tourism economy, and in fact, it is trying to distance itself from the film altogether.