Star Wars film shows this country at its very best

The latest Star Wars film highlights some of the best parts of Abu Dhabi and could prove to be a boon for tourism, writes Peter Hellyer

Part of Star Wars: The Force Awakens was filmed on location in the UAE, in the deep sands near Liwa, on the edge of the Empty Quarter. Film Frame/Disney/Copyright Lucasfilm 2015 via AP

Although I rarely watch television these days, years ago I was rather a fan of a British TV series called Bergerac. Centred on a policeman called Jim Bergerac, it was light viewing, a mix of somewhat unlikely tales of criminal investigation. While this wasn't my favourite genre, it did have its occasional moments. What attracted me to the series, however, was that it was set in my other home, the British Channel Island of Jersey. In each episode, familiar places appeared, from a favourite pub to a much-loved bay or rocky headland. In those days – the series ended in 1991 – I didn't pay a great deal of attention to whether the local economy benefited much from the series being set in Jersey, but I suppose it must have done. Certainly there was a boost for the tourist industry.

Bergerac came to my mind over the weekend as I, along with thousands of other local film fans, sat, enthralled, through the latest episode in the Star Wars series – The Force Awakens.

As most people will know, part of the film was made on location in the UAE, in the deep sands near Liwa, on the edge of the Empty Quarter.

It's not the first major blockbuster to have been shot at least partly in this country. Recent instalments of Mission Impossible and Fast and Furious have also been set here. I hadn't seen any of the earlier ones, but admit, willingly, that I went to see them precisely because I wanted to look at the scenes shot in, respectively, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, with some rather familiar buildings making an appearance.

I'm not sure I would go to see any more films in these two series, unless they're again set partly here. Having seen every one of the Star Wars films since the first one appeared, however, back in 1977, I'm now waiting eagerly for the next one, in mid-2017.

The Force Awakens provides stunning images of the UAE's desert landscape – and not just quick glimpses, either, because the whole of the first part of the film, on the fictional planet of Jakku, is shot here.

The monumental dunes, among the highest in the world, great inland sabkha plains, the undulating sand-sea – all of these appear, although, sadly, the film-makers haven't taken the opportunity of including any cutaways of the desert fauna and flora. Surely a place could have been found for a close-up of one of our desert lizards, which might have made a nice contrast to some of the fictional Star Wars lizard-like species.

It's not yet known whether Jakku will appear in the next film and whether the UAE will once again be chosen as a location. I rather hope it is, to provide a little more reward for those at Abu Dhabi's twofour54 and elsewhere who exerted so much effort, and spent so much money, to attract the Star Wars team to the Emirates.

In the meantime, now that the film has been released, perhaps our tourism promotion people can get to work persuading aficionados of Star Wars to come and visit Liwa. Tourists visit Tunisia to see the sets used in some of the earlier films and New Zealand's South Island has seen a growth in visitors after its stunning scenery appeared in the Lord of the Rings series. With or without storm-troopers, a Millennium Falcon or a droid, our dunes really are something quite special.

In the meantime, I look forward to hearing about, and seeing, the next Hollywood blockbuster to be set, at least partly, in the Emirates.

Perhaps a car chase with Daniel Craig around the F1 circuit on Yas?

I'm not privy to the financial aspects of the contributions that the industry now makes to the local economy, but it is rather nice to see the efforts put into promoting the UAE as a centre for filmmaking paying off.

Peter Hellyer is a consultant specialising in the UAE’s history and culture