Scotland up for ‘Best Cinematic Destination’ title

Scotland

Scotland is in the running for the prestigious title of Best Cinematic Destination in an online poll being run by one of America’s biggest newspapers.

VisitScotland is urging film fans to vote for the country in USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice awards, where it is up against 19 other destinations including New Zealand, New York, London and Paris.

People have until Monday 8 June to place their vote, with Scotland currently lying in third position behind Petra in Jordan (as seen in the climactic scenes of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) and Salzburg in Austria (which is hugely popular among The Sound of Music fans). The winning destination will be announced on Wednesday 10 June.

Scotland has featured in a number of high-profile movies in recent years, including the Harry Potter series (2001 to 2011); Skyfall, Prometheus and The Dark Knight Rises (all 2012); World War Z (2013); and the upcoming films Macbeth, starring Michael Fassbender, and Victor Frankenstein, starring James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe. Scotland also plays a starring role in the hit US television series Outlander, which is now being shown in the UK on Amazon Prime.

Jenni Steele, Film & Creative Industries Manager at VisitScotland, said: “Given our country’s incredible and unique scenery, our range of spectacular buildings, as well as the warmth of our welcome, it is no wonder that it continues to attract some of the top film-makers from all over the world. Set-jetting, where people visit their favourite filming locations, is hugely popular and Scotland’s nomination in this USA Today poll is further testimony to this country’s growing reputation as one of the world’s greatest film sets.”