Answer — Exercise 7

b)

1. Porthcurno Beach is a Poldark location, and lots of people visit the beach because they've seen the TV series.
2. The 'Poldark Effect' has greatly increased tourist numbers in Cornwall.
3. The National Trust owns Porthcurno Beach.
4. The Cornish economy depends very heavily on the tourism industry, which brings in £2 billion a year.
5. 500,000 people visit Charlestown every year.
6. High visitor numbers put pressure on the local infrastructure, especially roads and beaches.
7. Northern Ireland is one of the principal locations for Game of Thrones.
8. Political violence in the past meant that Northern Ireland wasn't a tourist destination.
9. The Northern Irish Government contributed £9 million to the building of Titanic Studios, and Game of Thrones has since brought £65 million into Northern Ireland.
10. Outlander and Downton Abbey are other TV programmes which have had a similar effect to Poldark and Game of Thrones (in Scotland and at Highclere Castle).

c)

1

• Simon Hocking is in favour of screen tourism because it brings a lot of money into the local economy.
• lan Lay is positive about it because it brings people to Cornwall and is very good for the local restaurants.
• Tania Plowright thinks it can cause problems, especially with increased traffic.
• Bridgeen Barbour thinks it's been great for Belfast and has created lots of opportunities.

2

Generally good:

• Cornwall: screen tourism has been generally good, bringing in lots of visitors and money and boosting the local economy, though with some downsides like heavy traffic and crowded beaches.
• Northern Ireland: screen tourism has been very beneficial, bringing in lots of visitors and investment, and helping Northern Ireland to recover from a troubled political past, with no obvious downsides.