Tourist Offices

To all film location enthusiasts

Please note that despite offering various local tourist authorities
FREE publicity on our site,
which attracts some 3.5 million hits a year, and asking for nothing in return,
our offer has been ignored. They are obviously too busy to promote
their areas to our surfers.

The incumbents in the office are obviously unaware of the power of
film-induced-tourism and the millions of pounds spent each year by these
visitors to film location sites throughout the world.

So, if you were thinking of offering free publicity to Bolton, Manchester,
Liverpool, Camden and Hammersmith, probably best you don’t waste your time.
Our offer was a free "plug" on each and every film that was
shot in and around their area that is contained on our site; but no,
they don’t want our help.

They have, obviously, too many tourists.

John Tunstill

Monty Python

……..and the Holy Grail.

Investigation, photography and loading by that dynamic duo, Robin and Simon James.

Interestingly, Sue Beeton, probably the world’s leading authority on film induced tourism is also a Monty fan and we hope that she too will relive happy memories of the film and its locations from some thirty-six years ago.

Terry Gilliam, the film’s director purchased one of my houses here in Umbria several years ago, and is one of the luminaries at the local film festival held in Montone each year.

Further reading and research, Film Induced Tourism, Sue Beeton, Channel View Publications, Clevedon, Buffalo, Toronto.

Open All Hours, Doc Martin, Last of the Summer Wine and Kingdom, all long-running TV series, have also had a direct financial effect on the towns in which they were made, as well as receiving complaint from locals, and space on our site is always available to anyone who wishes to adopt or discuss these productions.

From an article by Richard Savill, Daily Telegraph, 13 Aug 2008
Some residents in Port Isaac (Doc Martin's town)are calling for filming to be banned from the village because an influx of tourist visitors is causing traffic chaos in the narrow streets.
………..there have always been problems with traffic sine the days of horses and carts
"We have had the golden egg from the filming and we have had enough visitors now," said one resident.
……….so, thanks for the reward, but we don’t want the publicity or the trippers.
They said tourists have been dumping their vehicles by a children's play area, and are concerned a child could be killed.
……….”Doc Martin – Child Killer”. The next tabloid headline?
A local mother, said: "We need to take this seriously before we lose one of our children. It is extremely dangerous, especially when they want to go to the park."
……..”Doc Martin Responsible for Lost Children”. Maybe on the TV news.
"Friends who have enjoyed coming to the village for years have not been able to stay in holiday cottages because they have been rented to the crew."
………ah, yes, that golden egg, profit without responsibility.
Nearly 40 per cent of properties in the village are now second homes and the cost of the average home has been pushed to £280,000.
………so, one can deduce that the locals who sold to “outsiders”, at a hefty profit, didn’t take the opportunity to sell to locals, for less. Golden Egg Syndrome.
Doc Martin has attracted up to 10 million viewers in Britain and is a hit in more than a dozen countries including Australia, Belgium and Romania.
A local estate agent said the show had raised the profile of the village and was seen as an added attraction. we always mention Doc Martin in the particulars. It is a very sought after area."
………………….as ever, two sides to each story.

Film Induced Tourism (FIT) - Part 1

Sue Beaton wrote the book from which many of these extracts are taken, references are to her text, and the book is available from the better booksellers.

The popular media, cinema and tv, of the day influences the appeal of travel destinations and holiday makers. In the past media such as literature, music and poetry have been a major element, and prior to the development of film and television, a mass audience really had access only to written works. By the mid-20th century, film, became the main mass media outlet and has been particularly effective in affecting tourism vial movie locations. (MacCannell, 1976, ch1/pg4). Film locations and tv productions such as Last of the Summer Wine, the Professionals and Open All Hours, and cinema movie classics such as Shane, Laramie, Brief Encounter and Alfie have all influenced thousands of film and movie buffs to search for the real streets used in these wonderful outdoor productions.

Various tourism and film authorities have developed Movie Maps,. (ch1, pg7), showing movie and location sites used by the director, producer and location manager for filming of outdoor scenes. Dolce Vita, Paisa’, La Strada and Roman Holiday made extensive use of outdoor scenes for their movie productions..

The Hawaiian Tourism Authority, in its first-ever Strategic Tourism Plan, has identified encouraging filming in the state as one of its key tourism strategies for film site and location visits. (Hawaiian Tourism Authority 1999, ch1/pg8). Film sets have included Hawaii Five 0 and dozens of more modern films. All filmed on location in the Hawaiian Islands, Mutiny on the Bounty was an early film that too advantage of the beautiful scenery.

TV viewing is probably the greatest single domestic pastime. (Schofield 1996, ch1/pg8) and movie and tv filming locations add to the realism of the episodes, bring tourists to the town, increase the turnover of local shops and businesses and generally benefit the community. 50 Degrees North, Casualty and Holby City are good examples of the location of filming scenes bringing much needed employment and revenue to less obvious towns and villages.

Film and television are pervasive educators and persuaders, especially when they are entertaining. The theory is that many tourists tend to experience the world through a series of framed images, the screen is yet another frame through which tourists vicariously experience a destination or location. Through its image-creating potential, film can also provide strong motivation to actually visit the places. (Schofield 1996, ch1/pg9). Film-induced tourism and filming sites and locations for Braveheart, Clockwork Orange, Harry Potter and Middle Earth (New Zealand) have proved this time and time again and now tourist boards and tourist offices are promoting film location holidays, film destination holidays, movie walks and movie tours.

And reelstreets.com now lists more than 350 films which used outside locations, a wonderland of nostalgia, coupled with well-known actors, and now all on-line at the click of a mouse. Reelstreets.com uses snips from the original film and attempts to find the exact location of the scene which is then re-photographed in order to provide a then and now comparison.

Margaret Richardson - August 2009