Who is expected to boost tourism in the UK? Bond, James Bond, of course.
October 5 marks the 50th anniversary of the first James Bond film. To mark this occasion and to prepare for the 23rd James Bond installment, Skyfall, tourism company VisitBritain, is making use of the iconic spy's fame in hopes that it will boost tourism to Bond's homeland.
As London is the setting for the upcoming James Bond film, Skyfall, Britain's tourism industry believes Bond can help attract more tourists to the area. The movie was filmed in popular London locations such as the National Gallery, Whitehall and Greenwich and Glencoe and Glen Etive in the Scottish Highlands, according to the Daily Mail.
They are creating advertisements to be placed in 21 countries, based on the slogan "Bong is GREAT Britain." There will even be film advertisements that will be shown in movie theaters in places such as Australia, Brazil, Germany and the United States.
The advertising campaign will also be taken to the digital and social media world. An online experience called "Agent UK" will allow people to complete five online missions to try to find the hidden location of a rogue agent. This task will give someone the chance to win a luxury trip to the UK on a British Airways flight.
Another contest taking place in 21 countries also give people a chance to win a trip to the UK to "Live like Bond." Winners will get to take a private tour of the Aston Martin headquarters and will also learn how to make the perfect martini-shaken, not stirred, of course.
After the tourism boost during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, VisitBritain believes this James Bond campaign will continue to draw tourists in.
"007 has orchestrated many critical missions for Queen and country - including escorting Her Majesty to the fantastic Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Games - so it is only right that we call upon his services now to encourage more people to holiday in Britain," Sandie Dawe, chief executive of VisitBritain told the Daily Mail.
VisitBritain has found that movie locations pull in tourists from overseas. For example, after the Harry Potter films, tourism increased by 230 percent to Alnwick Castle, which was used as the Hogwarts School in the films, according to ETN.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
