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

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“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”).

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“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.