30/11/2007 04:32:16
Hollywood blockbuster The Golden Compass could tempt up to one million extra holidaymakers to Oxford, the city’s tourism chiefs have said.
Jane Lubbock, facilities manager at Oxford City Council, said the film, which stars Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig and 12-year-old Dakota Blue Richards as main character Lyra, could bring in an extra £15m in revenue.
The news should come as a boost to the city’s tourism industry following reports that this summer’s floods had caused visitor numbers to drop by 3,000 in July, a fall of 6%.
Talking to the Oxford Mail, Jane Lubbock said: "This film is great news for Oxford. People planning their holidays next year will see the film and it will remind them that Oxford is a great place to come and see."
The council plans to capitalise further on the influx of film-loving holidaymakers – or ‘set-jetters’ – by providing a tour of the film’s locations called ‘Lyra's Oxford’.
Speaking to the Press Association, a spokesman for VisitBritain, the official website of the British Tourist Authority, pointed out that The Golden Compass is one of a number of new movies filmed in the UK that could tempt set-jetters to Britain over the next few months.
Keira Knightley will be filming scenes in London, Derbyshire and Bath for her new film, The Duchess, while a re-make of Brideshead Revisited will be shot at Castle Howard in Y