After fifteen years on both the small and silver screen, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale premiered last week.
Bókun, a Tripadvisor company, have analysed the impact the finale will have on UK tourism.
Since the official trailer launched in June, interest in the series and in related travel experiences has surged.
By analysing Google search data, Bókun were able to draw insights from the trends observed ahead of the movie release.
The findings:
- Searches for ‘Downton Abbey tour’ surged by +139% in the last month, ahead of the finale.
- Downton Abbey is the second most influential TV show on tourism in both the UK and internationally.
- Interest in ‘Downton Abbey location’ and ‘Highclere Castle’ peaked ahead of the new film, with searches surging by +5000%.
- Experts International Friends expect to see a boost in Downtown Abbey tour bookings for the next one to two years.
International Friends, who have been running Downton Abbey–themed tours since 2013, say demand for their trips has always reflected the show’s on-screen presence.
“With regular weekly episodes it led to huge demand. Since then there is always a boost when a film comes out, but not close to the levels of when the regular series was on TV,” said Natalie Truman, Business Development Hub Manager & Operational Researcher at International Friends.
According to the Bokun research, the TV shows which have had the biggest impact on tourism across Europe are Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey, Outlander, Peaky Blinders, Emily in Paris and Bridgerton.
“From creating new walking tours of historical buildings and castles to simply adding an additional afternoon tea experience, both travel agents and tour operators have the unique opportunity to amend their offerings to tap into emerging demand all fuelled from the release of a new film,” said Sam Jefferies, Senior Growth Marketing Manager at Bókun.
“As International Friends highlighted, the boost in bookings from a single movie release can continue for one to two years – proving that tapping into cultural trends can deliver long-lasting, exponential benefits for businesses in the travel industry.”
Main image: Highclere Castle, setting for Downton Abbey
