Blockbusters help put the islands on tourism map

The Road Dance being filmed in Lewis last year.

Visitscotland have launched a new booklet which promotes Scotland as a top-class film destination – and a number of its more dramatic locations are found right here in the Western Isles.

The 52-page guide features more than 150 films which have been shot entirely or partially in Scotland and details more than 100 film locations, including Whisky Galore (1949), Brave (2012), which animators from Disney-Pixar were drawn to Lewis while researching the mysterious Calanais Standing Stones, and The Road Dance (2022), which was filmed at the restored Gearranan Black House Village near Carloway and The Blackhouse at Arnol. 

Screen tourism – or set-jetting – is a global trend in which film fans are inspired to visit a location after seeing it on screen.

Previous research has shown that 17% of visitors visit a film or TV location while on holiday in Scotland and a recent Screen Scotland report valued screen tourism at £55 million to the national economy.

Actor James Cosmo, whose film career has spanned six decades, writes in the foreword: “Throughout my career I have been privileged enough to be involved in many [films] that have made a real connection with audiences worldwide.

"People still come up to me while in Scotland and tell me they are here because they watched Scottish films such as Braveheart or Highlander. And what is wonderful, is that the films are only the starting point.

"They then form a strong connection with the real country – it may be because of their ancestors or the feeling they get while they’re here. That stays with them.” 

Victoria Harvey, VisitScotland Development Manager, said: “The Outer Hebrides is famous for its breathtaking beauty and distinct culture.

"It is easy to see why film scouts would fall in love with these island locations and look to capture this for global audiences.  

“The resulting interest when these films hit the big screen not only boosts the local economy in the short-term but can provide an ongoing presence in popular culture – and streaming services – that can continue to reach new audiences and lead to visits long after a film’s release. 

  “As we celebrate Scotland’s Year of Stories, our new-look Set in Scotland will hopefully inspire visitors to explore the Outer Hebrides far beyond the film sets, and experience the people, the places, the history and culture, that have inspired many big screen storytellers.”  

VisitScotland hopes the new-look guide will offer further inspiration for visitors, while providing a resource for the industry to create new experiences as part of Scotland's national strategy to rebuild the visitor economy and ensure sustainable tourism thrives. 

As part of the redesign, the guide labels each film by genre, features QR codes with links to film themed content on visitscotland.com, and contains a new section, Monarchs of the Glens, which focuses on those films linked to Scotland’s kings and queens, from Shakespeare’s Macbeth to the Oscar-winning The Queen. 

To date, Scotland has appeared in five of the top 30 highest grossing films of all time, which have brought in a total of $10.6 billion at the box office worldwide.  