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Stately Attraction - new report reveals tourism pulling power of film and tv

Films such as Harry Potter, The Da Vinci Code, Gosford Park and Pride & Prejudice and television programmes including Balamory and Monarch of the Glen have provided a huge boost for British tourism. Many UK locations have experienced a dramatic rise in visitor numbers thanks to being shown on the silver or small screen, according to a new report published today.

London:  Films such as Harry Potter, The Da Vinci Code, Gosford Park and Pride & Prejudice and television programmes including Balamory and Monarch of the Glen have provided a huge boost for British tourism.  Many UK locations have experienced a dramatic rise in visitor numbers thanks to being shown on the silver or small screen, according to a new report published today.

Commissioned by film and tourism bodies, the report by Olsberg|SPI, Stately Attraction - How Film and Television Programmes Promote Tourism in the UK, reveals the locations most likely to inspire tourism are stately homes, historic and religious buildings, and rural or village landscapes.  For films or TV programmes with cult status eg Trainspotting and Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the tourism boost can last for years.

Around the UK there are numerous examples of films and television programmes attracting both local and overseas tourists:

  • Alnwick Castle, the location for Hogwarts, saw a 120% rise in visitor numbers following the release of Harry Potter.  The films are estimated to have brought in £9 million in tourist revenue to the area. The trend was mirrored in other locations used in the film: Gloucester Cathedral's visitor numbers rose by 50% following the release of the first of the Harry Potter films.
  • Burghley House saw a 20% rise in visitor numbers following its use in the film Pride and Prejudice while coach tours at Basildon Park went up 76%.
  • Lyme Park – the scene of Mr Darcy's wet-shirt scene in the TV series of Pride and Prejudice - saw visitor numbers almost triple from 32,852 in 1994 to 91,437 in 1995.  Ten years later the tourism effect remains.
  • Lincoln Cathedral saw a 26% rise in visitor numbers, Rosslyn Chapel a 33% increase and Temple Church, London, a five-fold rise following the release of the The Da Vinci Code.
  • Notting Hill gave international prominence to an area of London relatively unknown outside the city.  The film provoked a huge and lasting influx of tourists searching for the famous 'blue door' and inspired a number of specialist guided walks.
  • Gosford Park sparked a renewed interest in Victorian and Edwardian historic houses.  Pollok House in Glasgow where guests can dine in Victorian kitchens recorded a 20% rise in visitors and Beningbrough Hall which has a fully equipped Victorian laundry saw numbers increase from 10,218 to 94,032 in a year. 
  • Children's programme Balamory had a dramatic effect on the village of Tobermory whose permanent population is just under 1,000.  2003 brought 160,000 extra visitors to the island, a rise of 40% on the previous year with Oban's Tourist Information Centre topping 700,000 enquiries – the busiest in Scotland.  VisitScotland estimated that the series contributed £5million a year to the tourist economy of Mull and the Western Islands.  Businesses had to adapt from the senior market to toddler tourism with child-friendly menus and nappy changing facilities.
  • The famed phone box in Local Hero was a prop discarded after filming.  It was enquired about so much that the village of Pennan installed one and it is now a listed building.
  • The café where J K Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book continues to receive as many as 10 visitors a day asking to see where she sat, whilst London's King's Cross station erected a plaque marking 'Platform 93/4' in response to visitor demand.
  • Eleven years on, fans still flock to Corrour, the train station used in Trainspotting despite it being the most remote station in the UK. 
  • In Thetford, Dad's Army tours are still popular almost 40 years after the comedy first aired.
  • Monty Python and the Holy Grail was made in 1975 and continues to draw visitors to Doune Castle in Stirlingshire.
    Braveheart boosted tourism in Scotland and to Stirling's William Wallace Monument in particular.  Visitors went up from 40,000 to over 200,000 and takings from £40,000 to £1 million.  The combined tourist income from Rob Roy and Braveheart was £15 million in 1996.
  • Prior to Mrs Brown, visitor numbers at Osborne House had been falling for years.  They shot up immediately on release of the film in 1997 and by 1998 were up 25% with 250,000 visitors.  Revenues reached £1.1 million a 20% increase on 1996.  The effect has been long-term with 235,558 visitors in 2005.
  • The Rosamunde Pilcher adaptations have attracted many Northern European visitors - especially Germans and Austrians - to the South West of England.  Germans see Prideaux Place in Padstow as 'mecca' and 70% of coach tourists to the house are German.  

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.

Bend it like Beckham raised the profile of the UK in the Far East.  It was the first commercial Western film to be shown in North Korea and in China it changed the perception of Britain.  The film also prompted a surge of interest in women's football including the founding of the first women's football league in India. 

Many of the programmes with greatest tourism potential tend to be 'Sunday night' productions – undemanding, comforting portrayals of attractive environments shown when viewers are relaxed and in family and leisure mode rather than work.  Sunday night tourism success stories include Pride and Prejudice and Monarch of the Glen (between 2002-2004 the value of tourism in the Moray, Badenoch and Strathspey region grew from £105 million to £128 million, an increase of 22%).

The report suggests ways tourism chiefs can boost visitor numbers by capitalising on films or TV series shot in their area and build on existing activities such as the production of movie maps – an initiative Visit London and Film London are leading on in the capital. Other suggestions in the report include:

  • National screen tourism campaigns around specific films or programmes.
  • Identifying specific countries for screen tourism marketing campaigns.
  • Promotion such as behind the scenes programmes, DVD extras, celebrity promotion eg Woody Allen for Match Point extolling the virtues of London. 
  • Developing a Bollywood tourism strategy – it is estimated that the recent International Indian Film Awards could bring an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 extra visitors to Yorkshire and generate around £10 million.
  • Increased co-ordination between tourism chiefs and the distributors of screen product.

John Woodward, Chief Executive Officer of the UK Film Council said: "British films and television programmes play a powerful role in showcasing the UK to the rest of the world and boosting tourism.  There are countless examples of visitors flocking to locations they've seen in films or on TV and the effect can last for years.  Miss Potter filmed in The Lake District is already giving Cumbria's tourism a boost and there's more to come with Brideshead Revisited filming at Castle Howard in Yorkshire."

Minister for Film and Tourism, Margaret Hodge said: "We have beautiful scenery and awe-inspiring buildings across the length and breadth of Britain. And our thriving film and television industries provide a platform to show the rest of the world just how much we have to offer. It is a terrific benefit that not only are our films successful, but their locations are becoming destinations in their own right as people seek to relive their favourite movie moments."

Media enquiries:
Lisa Tremble
UK Film Council press office
Mobile : 07814737824
E: press@ukfilmcouncil.org.uk
www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS

The report, Stately Attraction - How Film and Television Programmes Promote Tourism in the UK, was commissioned by the UK Film Council, Scottish Screen, EM Media, East Midlands Tourism, Screen East, South West Screen, Film London and Visit London.

It was written by the screen industry management consultants Olsberg|SPI and is available via the UK Film Council website at /information/downloads/?subject=67 or please email press@ukfilmcouncil.org.uk

For more examples of classic British movie locations around the UK, please see The Culture Show's Road Trip www.bbc.co.uk/arts/filmmap/

The UK Film Council is the lead agency for film in the UK ensuring that the economic, cultural and educational aspects of film are effectively represented at home and abroad.   We invest Government grant-in-aid and Lottery money in film development and production; training; international development and export promotion; distribution and exhibition; and education.   Our aim is to deliver lasting benefits to the industry and the public alike through:

  • creativity - encouraging the development of new talent, skills, and creative and technological innovation in UK film and assisting new and established film-makers to produce successful and distinctive British films;
  • enterprise – supporting the creation and growth of sustainable businesses in the film sector, providing access to finance and helping the UK film industry compete successfully in the domestic and global marketplace;
  • imagination - promoting education and an appreciation and enjoyment of cinema by giving UK audiences access to the widest range of UK and international cinema, and by supporting film culture and heritage.