LONDON: Keen to visit the popular film shooting locations in the country, cinema lovers from India and other countries are flocking to Britain, boosting its tourism by 2 billion pounds. The euphoric interest shown by Indian tourist in visiting the places where several Bollywood films were shot, have prompted the Britain's tourism authorities to come up with a 'Bollywood map' depicting the popular shooting locations.

Though, separate figures for Indian films-related tourism are not available, but its thousands of tourists visiting UK every year have made a contribution of whopping 1.8 billion pounds, says a report 'Stately Attraction - How Film and television programmes Promote Tourism in the UK'. The report was commissioned by the UK Film Council. Films like "Harry Potter" series, "The Da Vinci Code", "Gosford Park" and "Pride & Prejudice" and television programmes including "Balamory and Monarch of the Glen" have been identified as a major booster for tourism in the country. "Effect of film tourism was long lasting. British films and television programmes play a powerful role in showcasing the UK to the rest of the world and increased tourism," said John Woodward, chief executive, UK Film Council.

"Bend it like Beckham," a film by Indian-origin director Gurinder Chaddha, raised the profile of Britain in India, South Asia and the Far East. It suddenly placed the west London town of Southall on the international tourist map. It was the first commercial Western film to be shown in North Korea and in China and changed the perception of Britain. The film also prompted a surge of interest in women's football including the founding of the first women's football league in India, the report says. -\

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