Cornish town of Looe sees tourism surge

Businesses in a Cornwall town have said tourism and revenue have both increased due to BBC drama Beyond Paradise.

The programme, now in its third series, is filmed in Cornwall and Devon, with the Cornish town of Looe setting the scene for the fictional Devon town of Shipton Abbott.

Ben Palmer, chef and owner of the Sardine Factory in Looe, said: “Beyond Paradise has had a very positive impact on the town. People are visiting us more here, which is great.

“At the restaurant we have seen a massive uptake in bookings, which is fantastic.”

Mr Palmer’s business was featured in an episode on the show, although it was renamed the “Ten Mile Kitchen”.

“It was quite funny to see our restaurant turn into something else,” he said.

“People are coming to down to visit us to see the set they saw on the episode so we are very lucky and privileged to have featured.

“And we’ve seen an uplift in bookings and I’m very positive that other businesses have too. We all need that at this time of year and it has been warmly welcomed.”

Adam Hackett, owner of Choklet, a cocktail bar in Looe, said the impact of the show had been “amazing”.

“We’re seeing a huge footfall off the back of the programme,” he said.

“We’re seeing more customers, including a lot more foreign tourists, actually.”

He said his business had seen a 20% rise in takings compared with the same time last year.

“They have seen the programme and it’s brought them down to Looe. I think it’s made a huge difference,” he said.

Jade and Emma Hadley, from Wiltshire, were visiting shooting locations while on holiday in Cornwall.

“It’s really nice to spot the bits that you see on the telly and go around,” said Jade.

“We’ve been spotting different areas all across Cornwall, but the police station was definitely a highlight. We even had our picture taken there.”

Emma said: “It’s quite nice to watch Beyond Paradise while actually being in the area where they filmed it. It’s like an added bonus to our holiday.”

The women also enjoyed seeing familiar faces from the show.

“We saw Kris Marshall [who plays Det Insp Humphrey Goodman] walking along the way,” Emma said.

“It was very nice to see him in person.”