Written by on Jun 16, 2015. Posted in On Location

US poll finds Scotland world’s Best Cinematic Destination for film tourism

Scotland has been declared the world’s Best Cinematic Destination in a new USA Today poll that could help boost the country’s film tourism industry. Scotland’s international filmmaking profile is rising, with TV drama Outlander based in Cumbernauld near Glasgow.

“This is a fantastic accolade for Scotland, which has beaten some of the world’s most iconic film locations to take this award,” said Malcolm Roughead, chief executive of VisitScotland.

“Given our country’s incredible and unique scenery, our range of spectacular buildings, as well as the warmth of our welcome, it is no wonder that it continues to attract some of the top filmmakers from all over the world.

“'Set-jetting', where people visit their favourite filming locations, is hugely popular and Scotland’s victory in this USA Today poll is further testimony to this country’s growing reputation as one of the world’s greatest film sets.”

Petra in Jordan, New Zealand and Salzburg in Austria complete the poll’s top four cinematic destinations. Perhaps unexpectedly, Dyersville in Iowa – the filming location for Kevin Costner’s 1989 baseball movie Field of Dreams – takes the number five spot as the highest-ranking US location.

Scotland has hosted scenes for many high-profile films over the past few years, including James Bond movie Skyfall, Batman sequel The Dark Knight Rises and several entries in the Harry Potter franchise.

The country does not yet offer a purpose-built studio but plans were recently announced to put together a panel of production experts to advise the government more effectively on how to support the screen industry.

(Skyfall image: Francois Duhamel/United Artists/Columbia Pictures)