The U.K.’s Many Filming Locations Make It an Ideal Destination for ‘Set-Jetting’

There are countless reasons U.S. travelers visit the United Kingdom,
but in recent years, seeing the places where iconic characters such as James
Bond, Harry Potter or the Bridgertons have spent time is just as aspirational
as walking in the footsteps of The Beatles, the Bard and the Royals,
catapulting “set-jetting” to the top of many travelers’ must-do lists.

Responding to screen tourism research that shows 88% of visitors
from the U.S. are interested in visiting film and TV locations during a trip to
the U.K., VisitBritain has launched a new global screen tourism campaign called “Starring Great Britain,”
to inspire travelers to visit on-screen destinations across England, Scotland,
Northern Ireland and Wales.

“As screen tourism grows in popularity among U.S. travelers,
we are excited to launch our Starring Great Britain campaign to highlight the
real-life locations behind these iconic stories and inspire U.S. travelers to
visit Britain now,” said Paul Gauger, executive vice president for the Americas,
Australia and New Zealand
at VisitBritain. “In working closely with our valued
travel trade partners, we aim to showcase film and TV-inspired itineraries that
invite Americans to explore Britain’s diverse landscapes and uncover the magic
behind their favorite on-screen moments.”

The
campaign
kicked off during VisitBritain’s Showcase Britain 2025
trade event, with the debut of a blockbuster-inspired short film directed by
Academy Award-winning British director Tom Hooper.
The film featured iconic scenes from “Mission: Impossible – Fallout,” filmed at
St. Paul’s Cathedral in London; “Bridgerton,” filmed at West Wycombe Park in Buckinghamshire; “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,”
filmed at Cragside in Northumberland; “House of
the Dragon,” filmed in Anglesey in North Wales; “Succession,”
filmed at Eastnor Castle in Herefordshire and many
others, all interwoven with scenes depicting modern travelers at the same
locations.

Growing
Interest — And Opportunity

While visiting the U.K. in search of film locations has already been
popular for many years, the fact that some of the most popular current television
series and film franchises have shot scenes in Great Britain could be a new
motivator for repeat travelers, as well as inspiration for new visitors

RELATED: Travel to These Top ‘Bridgerton’ Filming Locations

“Set-jetting
is nothing new,” said Patricia Yates, CEO of VisitBritain/VisitEngland. “But people
who are really interested in Harry Potter don’t just want to do [Warner Bros.
Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter] — which is a
brilliant tour. They also want to go to Alnwick Castle [in Northumberland] and
have a broomstick lesson, and they want to see the Glenfinnan Viaduct [known as
“the Harry Potter bridge”] in Scotland. So, the great thing about location
filming is that it’s all across the country.”

Because of
that, travel advisors have the opportunity to create curated itineraries that
include multiple U.K. destinations, whether clients are chasing one favorite
franchise or want to explore filming locations for several productions in one city
or region (such as visiting Bath for “Bridgerton” and “Poldark” or Northern
Ireland for “Game of Thrones” and “Derry Girls”).

RELATED: Visit
These ‘Wonka’ Filming Locations in Britain

“It’s an alignment of the stars that really drives this campaign — and I don’t mean the Hollywood stars,”
explained Nick de Bois, chairman of VisitBritain. “There’s
a remarkable statistic that nine out of 10 people would love to visit a film
location that they identify with. And then you’ve got this other statistic
that, in 2023, we had more films produced here than in Hollywood, so it’s an
opportunity to move people to ‘put themselves in the picture.’”

And how does VisitBritain know that film locations drive interest
in visiting the U.K.? De Bois points to one specific statistic.

“When Castle Howard [near York] was shown in ‘Bridgerton,’ visits
to the castle’s website went up,” he said. “And they didn’t just go up by 10%
or 20%; [there was a] 3,800% increase on visits to the site — and we know we are going to convert some of
those.”

Advisors can access VisitBritain’s trade website for
sample itineraries and bookable products inspired by
film and TV locations across Great Britain.