New international campaign spotlights West Midlands' ‘set jetting’ offer

The West Midlands venues and locations, which have appeared in film and on television, will be showcased as part of a new, multi-year, global campaign by national tourism agency VisitBritain.

'Starring GREAT Britain’ will be promoted across VisitBritain’s major inbound markets, including USA, Australia, France, Germany and the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries, and will highlight destinations – including the West Midlands – which have been used in filming and seen-on-screen.

The campaign capitalises on the growing travel trend known as ‘set jetting’ – the phenomenon of tourists visiting locations they have seen in films and on television. It aims to inspire more visitors to discover more and stay longer, driving visitor spend into local areas.

To celebrate the new campaign, a new tourist guide displaying the West Midlands’ well-known and under-the-radar filming locations has been launched.

The 24-page brochure provides national and international visitors to the region with a handy overview of the West Midlands backdrops, which have graced the big and small screen. These include the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley (Peaky Blinders), Grand Central in Birmingham (Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One) and Coventry Cathedral (This Town; Nativity!).

The guide also includes destination profiles, fun facts and ideas for tourists on what to experience and where to eat, stay and party to live like the ultimate Hollywood A-Lister.

Neil Rami, chief executive of the West Midlands Growth Company (WMGC), which created the guide and leads the region’s Destination Development Partnership, said: “The West Midlands has provided iconic backdrops for many of the television and film smash hits, which viewers have been glued to in their living rooms, on their smart phones and throughout our cinemas.

“For the first time, this new guide puts together the region’s eminent filming locations – past, present and future – in one place.

“I hope it encourages more “set jetters” to come and visit the West Midlands to put themselves at the heart of the filming action.”

The guide’s launch comes as fans eagerly await the new feature film of Peaky Blinders, the global smash hit BBC drama, set in Birmingham.

The series was named the world’s most popular Netflix release in a 2021 study.

It has also been credited with an increase in domestic and international visitors to the West Midlands, as well as special walking tours, a dance theatre event and escape rooms.

Steven Knight, British screenwriter, director and creator/writer of Peaky Blinders, said: “I’ve always been proud of Birmingham and the wider region – for what it has achieved in the past and for its potential in the future.

“Exciting things are happening here and we’ve got ambitious plans to make TV and movies on an international scale from our new Digbeth Loc. Studios.

“We’re setting up in the heart of, what was once, Peaky Blinders country. I want people to come and experience it for themselves and enjoy what a fantastic area this is.”

VisitBritain’s latest research shows that film tourism – or ‘set jetting’ – is a powerful motivator for travel. More than nine out of 10 potential visitors surveyed across 20 overseas markets were keen to visit film and TV locations used in filming during their holidays in the UK.

WMGC and VisitBritain have already welcomed international media from countries including Germany, India and China to celebrate the ‘Starring GREAT Britain’ campaign, visiting the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley, joining a behind-the-scenes tour of Digbeth Loc. Studios and exploring Birmingham’s famous canals.

The West Midlands will host the first-ever World Screen Tourism Summit – SET-JET 25 – at the ICC, Birmingham. Taking place on Friday, 21 November, the event will showcase UK and international best practice in the growing market for ‘set jetting’.

The Summit will feature expert speakers from around the world on film tourism marketing, destination branding and visitor management.

To read the new brochure ‘A Guide to Filming Locations in the West Midlands’, log on to the website.