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Could Kent become the next Hollywood?

By: KentOnline reporter multimediadesk@thekmgroup.co.uk

Published: 17:11, 27 February 2009

A view over the lake from Hever Castle
Dover Castle - one of Kent's key visitor hotspots
Knole Park is one of the key attractions in the film
Penshurst Place
'The Other Boleyn Girl’ was a huge blockbuster hit

There are plans to make Kent the new Hollywood - after one hit film alone brought in £1m.

Tourists flocked to the county in the wake of the 'The Other Boleyn Girl’.

Now the KCC film office and Visit Kent are hoping to convince film directors the county is the ideal location to film more Hollywood blockbusters.

A 'movie map' campaign to attract tourists to the 2008 film's locations has brought more than £1million to the county.

mpu1

The initiative distributed 100,000 maps throughout London and Kent featuring locations where the filming took place, including Knole Park, Dover Castle and Penshurst Place and the original home of Anne Boleyn, Hever Castle.

Each of the tourist attractions featured have defied the credit crunch, having either exceeded or met their visitor targets, whilst those not involved in the campaign were below target for the year.

From an initial investment of £27,000, a total of £744,464 in visitor spend was generated and the campaign attracted press coverage for the county to the equivalent of £281,724 in advertising.

The partnership is now hoping to sell the county as a perfect film location.

Tanya Oliver, director of strategic development and public access at Kent County Council, believes it could have far-reaching and long-lasting benefits.


Which is your favourite Kent attraction? Add a comment below


She said: "It's not just when companies come and film in Kent, spending millions of pounds. We still see benefits from the Darling Buds of May being filmed here, and that was years ago."

"There isn't anything Kent can't offer apart from mountains.

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"We've got beautiful coastlines, great towns with cathedrals, castles and even some of the grittier town scenes. So there really isn't anything you can't film in Kent.

"We're trying to get the word out to the industry, not just in the UK but internationally, that it's a really film-friendly place."

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