2014 SAW a massive increase in film production in Britain – 35% up on the previous year, and highest recorded figure. As a result, screen tourism is a growing phenomenon, with more and more locations across the country benefiting from a booming movie industry.
Many viewers are no longer content to watch a television programme or film on screen; increasingly, they want to see and explore the locations used in the movies. International tourists brought between £100 million and £140 million to England’s economy (outside London) in 2014, with the most popular locations generating up to £1.6 million every year in international visitor spend.
Several sites generated significant levels of screen tourism spend. Alnwick Castle (famously the home of Hogwarts for the first two Harry Potter films) generated £4.3 million in screen tourism spend in 2014.
The first episode of the BBC period drama Poldark – set in Cornwall and watched by seven million viewers this month (March) – was followed by a 65 percent rise in visitors to the county’s tourism website, visitcornwall.com.
Kaye Elliott, head of Production Services at Creative England said: ‘The positive impact of screen tourism to the economy is clear to see, but there is still much more we can do. At Creative England, we work hard to encourage production teams to film in the English regions, and also work with locations, local businesses, local authorities, and tourist agencies to help them maximize the benefits of this growing trend, something that has the potential to add even more money into the UK economy. This country is full of magnificent locations and with spring finally upon us, now is a great time to get out there and visit those places made famous by our best loved films and dramas.’
Research for Creative England surveyed visitors at eight locations across the country: Alnwick Castle; the village of Bampton (Downton Abbey), West Bay (Broadchurch), Castle Howard (Brideshead Revisited, Death Comes to Pemberley), Holkham (Shakespeare in Love, The Duchess), Lyme Park (Pride and Prejudice, The Awakening) Puzzlewood (Merlin, Doctor Who); and Wollaton Hall (The Dark Knight Rises).
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