Blockbuster films attract tourism to Oxfordshire
There's been a rise in screen tourism around Oxford as people want to see the location in a film or tv series.
Last updated 5th Sep 2024
Screen tourism has been rising around Oxfordshire as people visit the county to see the locations where blockbuster films are made and where Hollywood stars have walked.
More tours are being put on in the city to keep up with demand.
The architecture around Oxford City has been the inspiration to many books and movies in the past, such as Harry Potter and The Mummy.
More recently, we’re told that there have been a few more blockbusters being filmed in the city only a couple of weeks ago.
Stephen Fisher is a tour guide for Oxford Official Walking Tours and he was walking into work when he saw some of the film sets. He said: “If I time it correctly, I can be here whilst there’s films being made.
“There was three new movies being filmed at the same time. You’ve got the new Guy Richie movie being filmed and a huge amount of stuff here for Tom Cruise’s new film, Mission Impossible.
“Then, you had the Young Sherlock being filmed over on Merton Street. That was quite amazing because you actually saw what it would have looked like 300 years ago with horses and carriages going up and down the street.”
For anyone wanting to keep an eye out for some of the film locations around Oxford, Stephen has a few tips, he said: “I think you really pick up a lot just by looking up and to wander of a beaten track is always a good one.
“There are a lot of films that have been filmed here and sometimes with the more recent ones they have CGI’d something in there.”
Oxford Official Walking Tours have started a new tour to this Summer keep up with demand of people wanting to see some of the locations that they’ve seen on screen, in real-life.
Lesley Wright is the Marketing and Partnership Manager at Experience Oxfordshire, which operates Oxford Official Walking Tours, she said: “It covers a lot of the locations that you’ll see in tv and films that were shot on location here in Oxford.
“There’s so many people travelling from overseas to come into England and our region in Oxfordshire to see many of the sights.
“It’s positive to welcome so many people into the city especially after the pandemic.”
Since, the Covid-19 pandemic the numbers of tourists visiting Oxfordshire have been steadily rising year-on-year. In 2022 there was around 26.5 million people visiting and spending £2.6 billion per annum.