How can television help tourism in the UK?

How can television help tourism in the UK?

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Monday, 2nd February 2015

With numerous popular television shows filmed in settings across the UK how is tourism affected by the buzz?

Television has been a huge factor in creating tourist hotspots across the UK.  In recent years landscapes like rugged Northern Ireland, the cliffs on the south coast of England and country estates have become inundated with tourists due to popular TV shows.

One of the most popular TV shows in the world at the moment is HBO's Game of Thrones. With many locations from the fictional world of Westeros shot in Northern Ireland, the country has seen a boom in tourist activities around the scenic locations the series offers. Fans can now not only visit the sets of numerous locations but can also take part in everything from Archery at the home of the Starks, Castle Ward near Strangford, where fictional Winterfell is set to a full Banquet in costume.

The Northern Ireland Tourist Board has even appointed a brilliantly-named Culture and Creative Vibe Manager to capitalise on all the buzz.

"It's great for us - we can associate ourselves to big brands like HBO and Game of Thrones, " says Martin Graham, current head of '£reative vibe'.

As a result the show has appealed to the "³ort of market that wouldn'´ have come to Northern Ireland or have any knowledge of Northern Ireland from a tourism point of view, " Graham adds.

BroadchurchBroadchurch: ITV

Local coach tour companies have begun doing specialised Game of Thrones tours, complete with iPads that show eager fans how the scenery around them fits in to scenes in their favourite fantasy series.

The ITV hit Broadchurch has also provided a significant boost to trade in West Bay, Dorset - where the drama is set.  So much so that the booking website Hotels.com says it has seen a 50% rise in searches for the area.

Tourism development manager of Visit Dorset, Cheryll Stapleton, says it's too early to define the increase in visitor numbers, but online the interest is clear: '¼/strong>it's by far the most visited page on our website so obviously having such fantastic shots of West Bay and the iconic cliffs has been a huge boost to the profile of West Bay and Dorset. "¼/p>

Visit Cornwall's website suddenly gets a 200% increase in hits when Doc Martin is on abroad in places such as Australia.

Strangford, Northern IrelandStrangford, Northern Ireland (Game of Thrones)

The long-running series, with Martin Clunes as a lovable local GP, is filmed in the real-life tourist trap of Port Isaac, on the county's north coast.

With the show on in 14 countries around the world, the resulting tourism has lead to a surge in local hotel and B & B investment as well as a new car park at the port.

Foreign visitors to the UK are also flocking to what is becoming more of a hit abroad than at home: Downton Abbey.

Mike Stewart, who hosts a number of tours across the South of England for British Tours, says tourists from abroad and especially from the United States all have one specific destination they want to visit, "The number one place is Downton Abbey, or in other words Highclere Castle ".

The popularity of the castle to visitors is so strong that according to Stewart, "´hey have more people wanting to get in there than they can cope with ".

It is clear that tourism in the UK can be heavily affected by television. Overseas fans of shows like Downton Abbey can still generate serious amounts of interest and buzz in destinations across the country. 

By Alastair Ballantyne

@AJBally

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With numerous popular television shows filmed in settings across the UK how is tourism affected by the buzz?