Budget 2006 Film Office Proposal

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="04b785a3.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Councillor Keith Martin </B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Councillor Keith Martin "><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="news21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="News"><U><I><B><U>Back to news page</U></B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <A HREF="id51.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bergin Backs Film Board for Mayo"><U><B><IMG SRC="18071970.jpg" border=0 width="113" height="151" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="3" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Budget 2006 Film Office Proposal</I></div> <bR> <div> In 2005 Westport benefited by over €100,000 in direct spend in the town by the following projects, RTE's The Last Furlong, Calvin Kleine's Advertisement, TV3's Ireland AM Broadcast and the Secret of the Cave feature film.</div> <div> This €100,000 can be multiplied by 3 to get its true benefit to the town. The benefits come from the direct investment and spending in the town, the spin off to businesses and the tourism generated from seeing Westport on film. A good example of this was the Guinness Ad of 2004 and the Last Furlong 2005 both of which were shot and set in Westport and featured many complimentary shots of the town. This is an undoubted boost for Westport and these programmes act as Advertisements for the town whenever and wherever the are shown.</div> <div> Therefore the benefit to Westport from the recent filming can be estimated to be between €250,000 to €300,000. </div> <div> The potential benefit for Westport is massive, here are some examples:</div> <div> Holmfirth, in West Yorkshire is the setting for the Last of the Summer Wine, at least 250,000 visitors go there every year.</div> <div> A 1997 report for VisitScotland, Scottish Enterprise, and Scottish Screen said that tourism income from both Rob Roy and Braveheart amounted to some £15 million. The same report said that direct spending by the makers of Rob Roy amounted to £6.88 million</div> <div> Large audiences are also attracted to scenes of Scotland portrayed in TV drama series. The most recent is Monarch of the Glen, the first series of which has been sold to 23 countries and is estimated to have attracted audiences of around 50 million viewers per episode</div> <div> All Creatures Great and Small, a long-running television drama series, generated £5 millions worth of business to the Yorkshire Dales</div> <bR> <div> Benefits of filming in Westport</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">It projects Westport to the world and helps attract tourism and business. Each program, advert or broadcast from the town displays the town’s beauty to an national and international audience. In effect each program becomes a free advertisement for our town. We have seen this work to great effect with the “Guinness Ad” and “The Last Furlong” both of which included long shots of the town highlighting its beauty and attractiveness. </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">When 'on location' in Westport, production crews invest directly in the local economy by using local shops, cafes and hotels as seen in the spending figures above. </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Westport is seen by film-makers as a 'film friendly town' and this encourages new productions in the town."</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>