New Report Shows the True Value of Screen Tourism

Filming in the UK has reached record levels with 2014 being the highest recorded figure ever. International screen tourists brought between £100 million-£140 million to the economy in 2014 with the most popular locations attracting up to £1.6million a year from international tourists.

Attractive tax incentives combined with England’s magnificent countryside, coast, towns and cities, historic buildings and urban architecture, make this country a firm choice for producers and directors from across the globe.

As a result, screen tourism is a growing phenomenon, with more and more locations across the country benefiting from a booming screen industry

Now, new figures from Creative England and research specialist Olsberg•SPI in association with VisitEngland prove that this is also great news for the visitor economy in England outside of London.

Viewers are no longer just content to watch a television programme or film on screen; increasingly, they want to see and explore the places they were filmed at first hand to fully immerse themselves in that world.  This research looks at the impact of screen tourism across England outside of London – and it shows that our filming locations are attracting overseas visitors in abundance.

International screen tourists or ‘set-jetters’, brought in over £100 million to England’s economy (outside London) in 2014 with the likes of Alnwick Castle (pictured below) which featured in the first Harry Potter films, generating £4.3 million in screen tourism spend.

To read more about the Film Tourism research key findings and download the report click here.

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 both encourage production teams to film in the English regions, and also work with locations, local businesses, local authorities and tourist agencies to help them maximise 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.”

James Berresford, CEO at VisitEngland said:

“It is fantastic that so many tourist destinations are benefiting from domestic and international visitors who increasingly want to experience stunning English locations from the world of television and film as part of a popular new trend known as set-jetting.

In recent years a popular location for ‘set-jetters’, for example, has been Highclere Castle which has been used in Downton Abbey for a number of years. As the film industry continues to thrive in England we would encourage regional businesses and organisations to tell people more about places which feature on screen and why they’re worth a visit so that the tourism industry can continue to use the phenomena to generate jobs and economic growth.”

To read more about the Film Tourism research key findings and download the report click here.