Lights, camera, Britain: VisitBritain puts set-jetting in the spotlight at TIFF

A-list celebrities may have descended on Toronto for TIFF, but on Tuesday (Sept. 15), VisitBritain made sure Great Britain got its close-up.

The official tourism agency of the United Kingdom invited select tour operators, media and influencers to the Canadian premiere of Ink, director Danny Boyle’s energetic biographical drama about the birth of the modern British tabloid, at the Princess of Wales Theatre in downtown Toronto.

VisitBritain isn’t an official TIFF sponsor this year, but the festival provided a fitting backdrop for the agency to continue rolling out the red carpet for its “Starring GREAT Britain” campaign.

Launched in January 2025 as a multi-year initiative to drive inbound tourism, the campaign casts Britain itself as the star, tapping into the world’s growing appetite for “set-jetting” – travelling to destinations seen on the big and small screen.

And Canadians, it appears, are ready for their cue.

“We know from our research that 87 per cent of Canadians are interested in visiting the UK, or it's filming with locations,” Cathy Stapells, country manager and director Canada at VisitBritain, told PAX while standing in that most familiar of TIFF settings: a line stretching around the theatre outside.

Highlighting the “Starring GREAT Britain” campaign at TIFF gives VisitBritain a high-profile stage to put the U.K.’s many filming locations in the spotlight.

“We're excited to showcase that,” said Stapells.

VisitBritain’s broader research shows nine out of 10 potential visitors to the U.K. are interested in visiting film and television locations during their trip.

It’s why productions such as Bridgerton, The Crown, Downton Abbey, Peaky Blinders, Outlander, the James Bond films Skyfall and Spectre, Paddington, Kingsman, Sherlock Holmes, Harry Potter and Mary Poppins Returns, and so many more, have become more than entertainment. They’re practically tourism trailers.

And the strategy is about spreading the economic benefits of tourism beyond the usual starring role played by London.

“Our campaign really demonstrates the depth and economic benefits of getting visitors to go beyond London, and into our nations and regions,” Stapells explained.

Set-jetting still rolling

If anyone thought screen tourism might be headed for the cutting-room floor, Stapells says the opposite is happening.

“It's increasing,” she said. “From the West Midlands for Peaky Blinders to Outlander fans, who are still going to Scotland [where the show was filmed], even though the series is wrapped up.”

Ink provided a timely vehicle for putting Yorkshire – as well as London, where the movie was also filmed – on the tourism map.

The film chronicles Rupert Murdoch’s acquisition of the struggling Sun newspaper in 1969 and his recruitment of editor Larry Lamb to transform it.

Australian actor Guy Pearce (The Brutalist), plays Murdoch, while Jack O’Connell takes on the role of Lamb.

What follows is an electrifying and wickedly look at the rise of Britain’s most popular tabloid and the “smuttification” of news, as The Sun embraces outrageous headlines, contests and topless women in its race for readers.

Canada is looking strong

Britain’s appeal to Canadians also extends far beyond what they see on screen.

VisitBritain is forecasting one million Canadian visits in 2026, generating £1 billion in spending, Stapells shared.

“We're looking pretty strong,” she said.

READ MORE: On Location: Pints, castles & cold plunges – the wonderfully unexpected side of Wales with WestJet & RIT

And amid geopolitical uncertainty and changing travel patterns, Stapells said VisitBritain is hearing positive reports from its trade partners.

“Our partners tell us that their Britain bookings are strong. They're strong into autumn, and early bookings for next year are also positive,” she said.

The U.K.’s Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA), which became mandatory in February of this year, created some initial adjustment for travellers, Stapells acknowledged, but the process has since become more familiar.

“Canadians need the ETA, and if you're a dual citizen, you need to enter Britain on your British passport. That's the key thing,” she said.

Wales takes a starring role

For travel advisors searching for their next storyline, Stapells pointed to Wales as one destination poised for a bigger role in 2027.

“There are so many amazing new itineraries and products," she said.

READ MORE: WestJet Toronto-Cardiff service restores Canada-Wales link after nearly 20 years

The VisitBritain team, for one, is “really jazzed” about WestJet’s new direct service from Toronto to Cardiff [Wales],’ added Stapells.

“There are a lot of new Wales itineraries out there, ready to book for spring 2027,” she said.

PAX, coincidently, just returned from Wales on a special VisitBritain-organized FAM with Canadian travel advisors, WestJet and RIT Vacations. Click here to read our on-location coverage from the trip.

AI questions cross from film to travel

Tuesday’s TIFF screening itself came with some genuine star power.

Boyle – the English filmmaker behind Slumdog Millionaire and Trainspotting – joined Pearce and O’Connell at the premiere, with the trio sticking around afterward for an audience Q&A.

The conversation took an unexpected final turn when Boyle was asked about the use of artificial intelligence in Ink and the broader threat AI could pose to filmmaking.

“We used a tiny amount of it. It’s very much linked with VFX in our world,” Boyle said. “We try to be very responsible and make sure no actors were out of work because of it, so we would always employ actors if we were going to use a bit of it. There was about 30 seconds of it.”

On the bigger question, he acknowledged the discussion about AI was far from over.

“The wider question of it and its place in our society of course, including our profession, is a huge and complicated one which I don’t think we can probably go into here, but we will need to go into it, all of us.”

And with that, the moderator abruptly called cut on the Q&A.

It was a slightly awkward ending, and a discussion that could just as easily apply to the travel industry, where travel advisors are navigating many of the same questions about where AI fits, how it should be used and where humans remain essential.

For VisitBritain, however, Tuesday’s message required no special effects: when destinations get their moment on screen, travellers want to see the real thing.

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