News Analysis: Veni, vidi ... Da Vinci

In contrast, Columbia Pictures executives must have been rubbing their
hands with glee at the publicity, as newspapers covered the case in
detail, often illustrated by stills from the forthcoming film of the
book.

Stoked by the conspiratorial nature of the novel, some have suggested
the case is an elaborate play for publicity by its publisher Random
House, which also publishes The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, written
by the plaintiffs in the case.

If this was the plan, it has worked. Last week the hitherto little-known
book about the Grail, which was re-released last September, shot to
number nine in Amazon's book chart.

Although media commentators have mooted that the case may delay the May
release of The Da Vinci Code film, this is unlikely, according to Giles
Crown, partner in the media, brands and technology division at law firm
Lewis Silkin.

'If the plaintiffs win the case, which I doubt, they may have a right to
pursue a claim against the film-makers. But a judge would be very
unlikely to grant an injunction holding up the film's release; he would
direct them to pursue a case after the film had come out,' he
explains.

This is good news for Columbia Pictures' tourism partners, VisitBritain,
VisitScotland, Eurostar and Maison de la France. All have been planning
a programme of events that play on the film, which is set mainly in
Paris and London.

Route to recovery

Tourism in both cities suffered last summer in the wake of riots and
terrorist attacks respectively. From June to September, the number of
visitors to London fell 4% year on year. This contrasted with a 3% rise
in tourism to England.

The tourism bodies are hopeful that the film, to be screened in 40
countries, will encourage visitors, particularly high-spenders from Asia
and the US, to put the cities back on their must-see lists. A spokesman
for VisitBritain estimates that one in five visitors to the UK are
motivated by having seen locations in a film - a group dubbed the
'set-jetters'.

All the film's tourism partners have planned promotional campaigns that
rely heavily on an online code-breaking competition to tie in with the
book's plot and locations in London, Paris and Scotland.

'It is a fabulous opportunity for us to promote our two major
destinations to long-haul visitors, as well as to Europeans,' says
Eurostar director of communications Paul Charles.

In a wider campaign designed to capitalise on the experiences of
visitors who do make the trip to London, VisitBritain is to incentivise
tourists to write blogs about their experiences for its website. 'When
planning a trip, people are far more likely to be influenced by the
opinions of fellow tourists,' says a spokesman.

VisitScotland is aiming to replicate the Braveheart effect. Ten years
after its release, the film, which stars Mel Gibson as Scottish freedom
fighter William Wallace, is still mentioned by visitors to Scotland as a
reason for their trip.

The country has also started capitalising on small-screen fame in recent
years. For example, the Badenoch and Strathspey region, the location of
the BBC TV series Monarch of the Glen that is shown in 20 countries,
markets itself internationally as 'Monarch County'.

The Da Vinci Code's Scottish references are more focused, but
fundamental to the plot. The action ends at Rosslyn Chapel in
Midlothian, which has seen annual visitor numbers almost triple to
110,000 since the book's publication.

VisitScotland is attempting to capitalise on the film by encouraging
set-jetters to visit other parts of the country. It has created three
themed tours, all including Rosslyn. They play on the theme of mystery
offered by The Da Vinci Code, and are complemented by visits to Loch
Ness and Glamis Castle, said to be Scotland's most haunted. The literary
link is maintained by tours of the former homes of poet Robert Burns and
novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott.

Mixed feedback

Not all the locations featured in The Da Vinci Code are grateful for the
publicity, however. Westminster Abbey refused Columbia Pictures
permission to film. The producers were forced to turn to Winchester
Cathedral instead, which was paid £20,000 and now plans to
introduce admission charges.

'Although (the book) is a fine page-turner, we cannot commend or endorse
the contentious and wayward religious and historic suggestions made in
it. It would therefore be inappropriate to film scenes from the book
here,' explains a spokeswoman for the Abbey.

However, the Abbey's shop is to sell a book that aims to 'separate fact
from fiction and correct some of the quotes' in The Da Vinci Code. Even
the Church of England, it seems, is not above revenue generation from
what is likely to be the biggest-grossing film of the year.