Written by The Location Guide on Oct 12, 2015. Posted in On Location

BBC period drama Poldark helps boost film tourism in Cornwall

The BBC’s period drama Poldark, set in late 18th century Cornwall, helped boost film tourism in the region over the summer. A full 25% of people visiting the south-western county were inspired to do so partly by the TV series, according to a report from Visit Cornwall.

“These results illustrate how the power of screen can drive viewer desire to experience the fact behind the fiction,” said Malcolm Bell, chief executive of Visit Cornwall, in comments to Press Association.

“At Visit Cornwall we¹re seeing the effect in real-time with visitors to our website, visitcornwall.com, spiralling during and after an episode of Poldark.

“People are now watching shows with mobiles or tablets in their hands and acting on what they see on screen. Luckily for us they like what they see and it is having multiple positive impacts on Cornwall.”

Poldark tells the story of Ross Poldark who returns to Cornwall to reclaim his mining business after fighting in the American Revolutionary War.

A second series of the drama recently started filming, with a base at The Bottle Yard Studios in Bristol. The production facility is now the biggest of its kind in the west of England.

Film tourism is helping deliver more inward investment throughout the UK. The Bristol Film Office recently launched a series of digital maps highlighting regional filming locations used for Sherlock and the long-running adolescent drama Skins.

“The Film Office works all year round to support producers using Bristol locations, and by pinpointing key locations from iconic productions we hope to increase Bristol’s sense of pride in its longstanding excellent reputation as a filming destination,” said Natalie Moore of the Bristol Film Office.

(Image: BBC/Mammoth/Robert Viglasky)