‘If you film it, they will come!’ Film and TV-related Tourism and Screen Policy in the UK

Peter Bolan, James Caterer, Lindsay Williams

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

"Film and television-related tourism is big business in the UK, with high profile beneficiaries of the “set-jetting” trend including Glencoe (Braveheart, 1995), Lyme Park (Pride and Prejudice, 1995), and Alnwick Castle (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, 2001). Whilst this type of tourism is not a new phenomenon, it is only in recent years that tourism authorities such as Visit Britain have attempted to capitalise upon the beneficial effects of screen tourism through promotional tie-ins or “movie maps”.This increased focus upon the potential of screen tourism has coincided with a marked shift in the direction of film policy in the UK. Under the UK Film Council and the regional film agencies the arguments in favour of supporting film as an artistic activity hold little sway against the perceived wider economic benefits of film production. These benefits, or ‘added values’, are no longer confined to the film and media industries themselves, but also reach across into associated businesses, particularly those in the tourism sector. Recent research commissioned by the Film Council and Shepperton Studios claimed that in 2006 the UK film industry provided a boost to tourism which was worth £900m.This paper is the first phase of an interdisciplinary research project which aims to contextualise and evidence the phenomenon of film and TV tourism from an independent academic perspective, by integrating social science and humanities approaches.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationUnknown Host Publication
PublisherMeCCSA
Number of pages7
Publication statusPublished (in print/issue) - 11 Jan 2009
EventMedia, Communication and Cultural Studies Association (MeCCSA) Conference - National Media Museum, Bradford, UK
Duration: 11 Jan 2009 → …

Conference

ConferenceMedia, Communication and Cultural Studies Association (MeCCSA) Conference
Period11/01/09 → …

Keywords

  • screen policy
  • film tourism
  • destination marketing

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