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As seen on the screen!

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A new campaign will use locations used on the big and small screen to showcase Falkirk and West Lothian as a visitor destination with the help of VisitScotland.

Film on Forth

The national tourism organisation is supporting the initiative with a <strong>£15,000 VisitScotland Growth Fund award. </strong>This award provides support to national, regional and sectoral tourism groups across Scotland to help them deliver partnership marketing campaigns.

Fiona Hyslop

Screen tourism is huge in Scotland, with almost one in five visitors saying they were inspired to travel here after seeing the country’s stunning landscapes and heritage on the screen. Both Falkirk and West Lothian have an increasing number of sites that have been used by production companies for major TV series and films including World War Z, Outlaw King, Trainspotting 2 and Outlander.

While attractions such as Linlithgow Palace and Blackness Castle have already seen huge rises in visitor numbers as a result of the ‘Outlander Effect’ the campaign aims to direct visitors from across the UK to more of the locations in the area as well as other nearby visitor experiences. It is hoped this will lead to visitors spending more time and money in the area, ensuring more businesses enjoy the benefits of Screen Tourism.

The area is also home to Scotland’s oldest cinema, the Hippodrome in Bo’ness. The campaign plans to work with local independent cinemas like the Hippodrome to promote the itineraries, maps and videos.

A Screen Tourism event will also take place where local businesses and groups can learn how to promote their on-screen connections and how they can engage with production companies to improve their visibility as potential filming locations. It is hoped this will create a legacy for the project and ensure Falkirk and West Lothian will continue to reap the benefits brought by Screen Tourism.

 Emma Chalmers, Board Director for Visit West Lothian, said: Councillor Cecil Meiklejohn, Leader of Falkirk Council, said: Jenni Steele, Film and Creative Industries Manager at VisitScotland, said: Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs, said: “This guide will help encourage tourists to venture beyond our cities and visit places such as Falkirk and West Lothian, where major productions are filmed. I am pleased to see agencies such as Visit Falkirk and Visit West Lothian collaborating to draw visitors to Midhope Castle, perhaps better known as the famous Lallybroch in Outlander, and the surrounding area.    “We recognise that film and TV influenced tourism brings a significant boost to Scotland’s economy, creates jobs, and enhances our international reputation. The Scottish Government is committed to strengthening our screen sector and promoting Scotland as a top spot for producing great films and television series.” Lord Hopetoun said: 

The campaign has received additional support from Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway, Falkirk Delivers, Linlithgow Town Centre BID, Vue Cinemas and Falkirk Community Trust.

The Outlander Effect & Tourism paper, published by VisitScotland, reveals that attractions used in the popular television series Outlander have seen visitor numbers soar by 67% since 2013, from 887,000 to 1.5 million. Since the show first aired in 2014, Linlithgow Palace in West Lothian has seen a 49.69% increase in visitor numbers while Blackness Castle in Falkirk has seen a 252.6% increase.

To find out more about TV and Film locations across Falkirk, West Lothian and Scotland go to https://www.visitscotland.com/see-do/attractions/tv-film/   

To learn more about Film Tourism and the Outlander Effect go to www.visitscotland.org/research-insights/about-our-visitors/interests-activities/film-tv 

To learn more about VisitScotland Growth Fund, go to www.visitscotland.org/supporting-your-business/funding/growth-fund 

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As seen on the screen!

Falkirk and West Lothian tap into lucrative Screen Tourism market

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Licence Editorial A Licence to use assets for editorial purposes, which is, to illustrate an event or story in an article but not commercially such as marketing a product or print ad. An Editorial asset may show a brand, a trademarked logo or product, a public personality, or recognisable people, without a signed release or with limited releases. When you use VisitScotland Editorial content you do so to illustrate Scottish tourism in a positive way.
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