Jamie Stone highlights Outlander and The Crown in screen tourism plea
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Local MP Jamie Stone has underlined the importance of screen tourism to local economies in Scotland and asked the UK government what it is doing to support independent production companies.
Mr Stone, the MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, raised the issue with culture secretary Michelle Donelan and Scottish secretary Alister Jack in his capacity as Liberal Democrat spokesperson for digital, culture, media and sport.
He mentioned the Netflix series the Crown as an example of a show that can put "little-known locations on the international map".
The Crown is described as a "fictional dramatisation" about Queen Elizabeth II and the events that shaped her reign. Season four involved scenes shot at Lybster and Keiss harbours in 2019, while other Caithness locations were Dunbeath, Ackergill and Langwell Estate.
In his letter to the secretaries of state, Mr Stone writes: "Research conducted by VisitScotland reveals that screen and literature tourism yields £64.9 million for Scottish businesses and attracted 656,000 overnight screen tourists in 2019."
The MP also refers the TV show Outlander as "a stand-out attraction to leisure tourists in Scotland".
Mr Stone points out that screen tourism helps boost local economies and asks the government what it is doing to support independent production companies across the UK to film in Scotland.
"When production companies come to Scotland to film, the cast, crew and audience are thrown into new worlds and cultures," Mr Stone said later. "As is the case so often, film and TV is the thing that helps to connect us and understand one another.
"I want to know what the government is doing to help support independent production companies across the UK to film in Scotland and the Highlands. You think of the new BBC TV show The Traitors, of the historical drama A Very British Scandal, and of course The Crown, and you see how these stories put otherwise rural and little-known locations on the international map.
"It is imperative that the government supports independent production companies in Scotland and across the union. Independent film and TV does much to cultivate a sense of Britishness across all four corners of the United Kingdom, and we must not underestimate the power of this."
