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 A Korean media report, referring to the popularity of a small village called Glenfinnan in northwestern Scotland as a tourist destination, says it is time for Korea to learn from Harry Potter.
Giving credit to VisitBritain, a report about the same village in publication Chosun Ilbo says a large sign reading “Location Site for Harry Potter” stands at the village entrance.
“With its dreary atmosphere, nearby Loch Shiel was used as the site for the Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft. The village’s railway viaduct was used in a Harry Potter movie in which a flying car chases a train. The owner of a nearby shop was attracting customers with meals and souvenirs, promising great photo opportunities when the steam train passes four times a day,” indicated the report.
“It has been more than 10 years since the first volume of the Harry Potter series was published, and UK is still reaping the benefits. VisitBritain, the tourist bureau, has set up a signpost for the famous Platform Nine and Three Quarters at King's Cross railway station. It is from this fictitious platform that Harry Potter takes the express train to Hogwarts School. Various locations in Britain, including Gloucester Cathedral, which was used as the hallway of the Hogwarts School, are attracting tourists by publicizing their links to Harry Potter. VisitBritain even helps visitors travel the Potter experience with a map showing many of the Potter locations.”
The report adds: “Korea registered US$7 billion in travel account deficit last year. Nowadays, it seems more urgent for the government to encourage Koreans to visit domestic destinations rather than attract foreign tourists. What happened to Jungsang’s House (a location used in the TV drama Winter Sonata), which was once crowded with tourists from Japan and Southeast Asia? What happened to Jeongdong-jin, a location from the TV drama “The Sandglass”, and the locations from the film “Friends”? Nobody seems to know what follow-up measures to pursue.”
It further goes on to say: “The tourism industry is limited only by our imaginations. We shouldn't be afraid to make mistakes or lose face. How about developing new destinations for foreign tourists, like a tour of the birth house of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon? Now is the time for Korea, which is clearly an underdeveloped country as far as tourism is concerned, to learn from Harry Potter.”
On its part, via visitbritain.com, VisitBritain promotes the sites where films have been shot.
For example, a page says: “Did you think Harry Potter’s Hogwarts was made-up? It’s in Northumbria, England! Alnwick Castle(pronounced Annick), ancestral home of the Duke of Northumberland, was used for many of the outdoor scenes in the film of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Remember the scene with the Quidditch lessons? That’s on the castle’s green! The Castle is no stranger to the silver screen - it starred alongside Kevin Costner in Robin Hood - Prince of Thieves.”
It states that further scenes of the adventures of Harry Potter and his friends were shot at the Norman Cathedral of Gloucester a place of worship for more than 1300 years -including the Ghost scenes and talking pictures. It was here where the scenes with the ghost Moaning Myrtle, and the mysterious red writing on the wall were shot. There are tours of the grounds, towers and crypts, and when the guides aren’t telling you about the Victorian refit, they'll show you where the Potter scenes were filmed.
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