Harry Potter continues to offer magical boost to UK tourism

Source: The Straits Times

EDINBURGH - Sam Thorne guides Harry Potter fans through the gothic streets of Edinburgh, where controversial author J.K. Rowling dreamt up the boy wizard more than three decades ago.

The Scottish capital attracts lovers of the bespectacled schoolboy from across the world, boosting the UK economy and helping generate billions of pounds in global sales of Potter-related offerings.

"Here you will encounter the tomb of Voldemort," Mr Thorne tells his tour group, in reference to the villainous dark lord of magic who murdered Potter's parents when he was a baby.

The tour, numbering some 20 fans, snakes through Greyfriars Kirkyard cemetery where some gravestones bear names similar to several characters, although Rowling - much criticised for her views on transgender rights - has not admitted any link.

American Kate Merson, 43, works in Edinburgh and is on the walk with her husband and two children, seeking to satisfy her nine-year-old's obsession with Potter - and her desire to explore the magical world of Hogwarts.

Rowling wrote seven Potter books which were published between 1997 and 2007, spawning eight blockbuster movies in a multi-billion-dollar global phenomenon.

Fans remain captivated by Edinburgh, whose sights and scenes were the inspiration for fantastical characters and locations.

"It got busier and busier and crazier and crazier. There are more people coming in - who are all asking for tours as well," Mr Thorne, 33, told AFP.

His Potter Trail lasts one-and-a-half hours and takes several dozen tourists across the city's pretty streets. His recommended tour donation is £20 (S$34) per person.

Mr Thorne's popular guided walk ends on the colourful Instagram-friendly Victoria Street, in front of two heaving Potter merchandise shops thronged by muggles, or non-wizards.