UK Film Locations Bring Visitors

Movies Make Money for British Tourist Towns, Castles and Cathedrals

Sep 7, 2007

Da Vinci Code location, Rosslyn Chapel, www.sxc.hu, photo: Graham Soult

UK film locations for movies and TV series like Harry Potter, Price and Prejudice, The Da Vinci Code and Gosford Park bring visitors for years afterwards, says a report

UK film locations make money and bring visitors, according to a report issued August 2007 by the UK Film Council. Movies like The Da Vinci Code and the Harry Potter series help promote tourism in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, in cities, towns and villages, in castles, cathedrals and country houses, often for years after the film was released and sometimes in unexpected ways.

Visitors from China and Germany come to see places and things that people who live in Britain take for granted, thanks to movies and shows such as Bend it Like Beckham, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Gosford Park, Notting Hill, Trainspotting, Dad's Army, Local Hero, Balamory and Braveheart.

The report into TV and film locations in the UK was commissioned by various film and TV bodies and conducted by Olsberg SPI, a strategy consulting firm specialising in film, TV and interactive media. Called Stately Attraction – How Film and Television Programmes Promote Tourism in the UK, the report includes the following examples:

Harry Potter: after the first Harry Potter movie was released there was a 50% increase in visitor numbers to Gloucester Cathedral, featured in the film. The Harry Potter films also show Alnwick Castle as Hogwarts, and the castle in Northumberland saw a rise of 120% in its visitor numbers. Even the Edinburgh café where JK Rowling used to sit writing the Harry Potter books gets visitors asking to see the table.
The Da Vinci Code: Scotland's Rosslyn Chapel, which features in both the book and the movie, has seen its visitors rise by one-third since the Da Vinci Code movie was released. Temple Church in London has had five times as many visitors since the film came out.
Lyme Park: this became famous to British TV viewers for an infamous scene when Mr Darcy did his equivalent of a wet t-shirt, and ten years later people still come to see the location where it was filmed.
Notting Hill: visitors still come in numbers to look for the famous blue door which features prominently in the movie, and there are still specialised guided walks to help them find it.
Local Hero: the film's famous red phone box was in fact a movie prop that was removed when filming in the village of Pennan. So many people came to the village wanting to see it that the Pennan villagers had one installed, and it's now protected as a listed building!
Balamory: the children's TV programme has had an astonishing effect on the Scottish village of Tobermory, where it is set. Visitor numbers have gone up by 40% and VisitScotland estimated that the success of the TV show added £5 million a year to the local economy.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail: the Monty Python film was partly filmed at Doune Castle in Stirlingshire, Scotland, and the castle's prominence in the film still brings people to see it today, despite the movie being made in 1975.

There's no doubt about it, the way to boost visitor numbers is to become a UK film location.

The copyright of the article UK Film Locations Bring Visitors in U.K./Ireland Travel is owned by Mike Gerrard. Permission to republish UK Film Locations Bring Visitors in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.