Doctor Who boosts Cardiff tourism

DOCTOR WHO FANS HELP WELSH CAPITAL INTO UK SHORT BREAK TOP 10

Hit Sci-Fi TV series Doctor Who and Torchwood have helped push Cardiff up the league table of Britain’s most popular holiday hotspots, according to new figures released today.

The two BBC TV series are both filmed in the Welsh capital – and fans keen to see where their favourite programmes are shot have helped the city move up the list of most searched UK holiday destinations, compiled by travel comparison website travelsupermarket.com.

Outside London and Edinburgh – the traditional UK destination top two – Manchester is proving popular, partly thanks to fans of locally-filmed TV hits Shameless, Life On Mars and Coronation Street…while fans of top soap Emmerdale, set in a fictional Yorkshire village, have helped the Yorkshire Dales move up to Number four in the chart.

Outside the Top 10, the Lake Districthas shot up following the success of movie ‘Miss Potter’, which told the story of classic children’s storyteller Beatrix Potter, starring Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor.

And the Cotswolds has also increased in popularity, partly inspired by Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz winter movie ‘The Holiday’, which was set in a fictional South West setting.

The travelsupermarket.com UK destination Top 10 is as follows:

1 London
2 Edinburgh
3. Manchester
4. Yorkshire Dales
5. Glasgow
6. Brighton
7. Birmingham
8. Newcastle-upon-Tyne
9. Cardiff
10. Liverpool

Alexis Garrick, head of hotels at travelsupermarket.com, said: “TV and movie fans are increasingly keen to visit the locations of their favourite programmes or films, and that undoubtedly has a big say in the UK’s favourite short breaks. And of course it’s great news for the UK tourist industry.

“There are so many reasons to holiday closer to home every now and then and as our stats show, people are looking all over the British Isles, not just at the most predictable places. I’d love to see the locations in ‘Miss Potter’, it’s just a shame that Ewan McGregor wouldn’t be there too.”

Travel comparison website travelsupermarket.com is an unbiased online service where customers can find the best value travel options for their needs and buy them over the internet – saving time and money.

The website compares flights, car hire, hotels, package holidays plus dynamic packaging by searching hundreds of travel websites.
CASE STUDIES AVAILABLE: Case studies of several people who have chosen their holiday destination after seeing it on TV or in a film, e.g. Doctor Who fan in Cardiff. For Doctor Who facts visit: www.drwho-online.co.uk