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British film locales enjoy tourism boost

‘Harry Potter’ films, ‘The Da Vinci Code’ others attract visitors

Image: Gloucester Cathedral
School children walk through The Cloisters at Gloucester Cathedral in Gloucester, England. ‘Harry Potter’ films, ‘The Da Vinci Code’ and other British films have lured in tourists, according to a recent report.
Graham Barclay / Getty Images file
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By Stuart Kemp
Hollywood Reporter
updated 11:42 a.m. ET Aug. 28, 2007

LONDON - Lights, camera, action, set visit!

That could be the new shout to herald the start of a U.K.-set picture, according to a report that says tourists love to visit the places where movies are filmed.

Top of the list are visitor attractions used as backdrops in the “Harry Potter” pictures, “The Da Vinci Code” and “Pride & Prejudice.” Alnwick Castle in England, which doubled for Potter’s Hogwarts school, has seen visitor numbers rise 120 percent since the release of the films.

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The report, “Stately Attraction — How Film and TV Programs Promote Tourism in the U.K.,” was commissioned by the U.K. Film Council and tourist boards.

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“There are countless examples of visitors flocking to locations they’ve seen in films or on TV, and the effect can last for years,” U.K. Film Council CEO John Woodward said.

“’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.”

Copyright 2009 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.

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