Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows boosts tourism in Wales

Add to My Stories Share The final installment in the multi-million pound Harry Potter series has worked its magic for tourism in Pembrokeshire.The beautiful Freshwater West beach has been added to the list of must-see Harry Potter film locations after it featured in Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2.Dobbys Shell Cottage, which features in the seventh and final film in the series, was built on the beach in 2009.

Stunning backdrop: Freshwater West provided the location for Shell Cottage in the final Harry Potter film News of the construction prompted hundreds of fans to visit the location in the hope of glimpsing the cottage and gathering autographs from the cast.Freshwater West was already known as one of Wales top surfing beaches, offering visitors unspoilt, golden sand.

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It is not the first time the beach has provided the backdrop for a Hollywood blockbusters - Sir Ridley Scott filmed battle scenes there for his 2010 version of Robin Hood starring Russell Crowe.

Wizard finale: The film is the final outing for Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint as the famous trio And now it seems the Hollywood sparkle has rubbed off on the county. Thelatest tourism figures released show that visitor numbers in Pembrokeshire rose by almost 30,000 to 4.2 million in 2010, while visitor spending is up by 5.4 per cent to 544m.Alison Belton, chief executive of Pembrokeshire Tourism, said the films had provided a big boost to tourism in the region: There is no doubt that any part in films of such magnitude works as a fantastic marketing tool for the tourism industry.

Hollywood hangout: Russel Crowe's Robin Hood was also filmed at Freshwater West BeachBecause films like Harry Potter reaches a worldwide market, particularly of a younger generation, it is important that we keep embracing the marketing opportunities here.
Other famous Harry Potter locations across the UK include Oxford Universitys famous Bodleian Library, which doubles up as Hogwarts library, Alnwick castle where Harry had his first flying lesson and Leadenhall Market in London where the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron is located.