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British film and TV are ‘brochures’ for tourism
Dalya Alberge, Arts Correspondent

Pride and Prejudice and the Harry Potter series are among films and television dramas that have become “virtual brochures” for Britain’s history and culture, according to a report by the UK Film Council.

Visitors were previously drawn to Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, to see a mighty medieval fortress, one of Europe’s finest. Since it became the setting for Hogwarts, the boy wizard’s school, there has been a 120 per cent increase in visitor numbers. That in turn has brought an estimated £9 million in tourist revenue to the area. Lyme Park, the National Trust property in Stockport, Cheshire, previously attracted visitors to the 18th-century Italianate palace, Lyme Hall. Its main draw, it seems, has become the lake from which Colin Firth, as Mr Darcy, emerged dripping in the television adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Lyme experienced a tripling in its visitor numbers. Firth fans are still visiting in droves nearly 12 years after the series was first shown.

The figures are published today in How Film and Television Programmes Promote Tourism in the UK, which notes that, although the phenomenon of “screen tourism” has long been acknowledged, the evidence has been largely anecdotal until now.

The report also singles out Balamory, the children’s drama about colourful characters living in a close-knit community on a Scottish island, which went out to 15 million viewers across Europe.

The village of Tobermory experienced a 40 per cent rise in visitors - an increase of 160,000. The series is thought to be contributing £5 million a year to the local economy.

The report concludes: “The effect of films and television can be far-reaching. They help to project an updated image of the UK overseas while historical films and programmes reinforce a brand for the UK as a country steeped in history.”

David Brent

I have always said that British films and television programs, that are shot on location in the UK, are the best advertisement British tourism could ever receive.

Films often list location sites at the end of the credits but British television has always failed to list the same information.
I have lost count of the number of times that I've been asked by Australian's if I knew where certain locations were that had been featured in UK television programs.
I'm sure there are thousands of viewers all round the world who would be tempted to visit the UK on the strength of location images that appear on their favourite Brit television program.

Dave.

ChristineCB

I agree. I think something like Crook's mentioned Canterbury Tour would be a common occurrence - people should be able to phone up any travel agency and find a selection. (Of course, we might have a bunch of flat-faced children that seem to be smashing themselves into brick walls in rail stations, I suppose, but nevertheless...)

Steve Crook

And don't forget all those people visiting Tobermory because of I Know Where I'm Going!
We might not contribute quite as much as the kiddies that drag their parents to see "Balamory", but we have our photo up in the Western Isles hotel.

BTW the houses around Tobermory harbour always were painted all those different colours, even before Balamory was filmed there

Steve

Steve Crook

The IMDb has a section for locations and is quite good for a lot of films & TV series. But of course it does rely on someone actually knowing where they were filmed and submitting the data

Steve

ChristineCB

Since most films with location shots are required to file for permits, actual locations are probably catalogued somewhere - officially - but that info may not be available to the public or, if it is, then it can't be found easily. The next time I'm in Vienna, I'll probably again visit the Third Man sites - not that it really means anything. But it's marketed well, and it's rather fun to listen to people chat about an enjoyable film.

In LA, I've seen the "Bus Tour To Stars' Homes" piddling along, and sidewalk vendors selling "Maps To The Stars". I've heard that most - if not all - locations are wrong, but this doesn't stop the tourists from believing. "Oh look! Hugh Grant's got the same tree that we do, Honey - leaves and everything!" "Lookee there - I wonder why Roman Polanski's phone-line is cut and dangling down like that?"

smudge

I would suspect most records of filming in Local Councils etc. are long since lost in the mists of time and networks like this forum and others are the best place for finding out about these things. Thank goodness for the Interweb !

I'll travel the highways and byways quite happily looking for locations and the thrill of turning up a 'new' one is quite nice. It often opens out into many other places, alongside what you were originally searching for and has given us many happy days out.

When I come up against private locations I often wonder if the people inside realise that they live in a 'famous' place or if they ever sat down on a Sunday afternoon to watch an old film and suddenly realised, "That's OUR house !"

Like you say, Christine, for the very famous sites it's nice to hear the odd snippet from like-minded souls as you drift past...

Smudge

Welcome to my house. Enter freely, and of your own will...

Moor Larkin

Yes. I expect Liverpool is still reaping the benefits......

Steve Crook

I've told some people that they're living (or working) in a film location. It usualy gets an interesting (& interested) response

Steve

christoph404

When David Lean filmed Ryan's Daughter in 1970 he was able to build a whole village in the south west of Ireland using real local stone and local crafstmen to construct it but on the strict understanding that the whole set be obliterated after the completion of filming. Why?,,,,,because the locals did not want flocks of visitors coming to the area to see where filming took place! How strange considering the revenue brought in to local communities by visitors to film sites, I guess the local yokels in this instance valued their peace and quiete above anything, either that or they were being very short sighted, I would have thought communities that rely on tourism would welcome added reasons for visitors to come but apparently not in this instance. BTW, Just to confuse matters, much of the beach footage was filmed in South Africa anyway so you may have difficulty finding those locals in Ireland cos they just aint there!