If you’re visiting the Croatian city of Dubrovnik, there’s a really good chance you’re there because you like Game of Thrones. The city has stood in for King’s Landing since the show began, although HBO has used it less in recent years. Still, word spread. Champion Traveler reports that, at present, 90% of tours given of the city are now related to Game of Thrones, rather than to its centuries-old history. It pretty much goes without saying that it’s the most popular tourist destination in the country.
Champion Traveler surveyed a number of local tourism companies, and this held true for all of them. The most popular locations visited include sites like the Ulica od Rupa, which is where Tyrion talked to Oberyn outside Littlefinger’s brothel (things are kept PG in the actual area)…
…Park Gradac, where Joffrey died at this own Wedding…
…and of course, the steps where Cersei took her infamous walk of shame:
And there’s more where that came from, with areas in Dubrovnik standing it for everything from the Red Keep to Blackwater Bay. It’s no wonder they’re popular attractions.
But it’s a little surprising that they’re this overwhelmingly popular when there’s so much history on offer. Game of Thrones tourism in general is on the rise, with the number of visitors from North America and Asia in particular growing rapidly. Officials in Dubrovnik are happy about this, but the big question for them and others is whether the boom can be sustained? Local tourism booms caused by film and TV locations tends to last for around three or four years, though the boom from something as extensive as Game of Thrones may last longer.
This “movie induced tourism” can be supplemented by advertising and local development, but in the end, it’s largely determined by each show’s popularity, and how long that popularity is sustained by any sequels or spinoffs. While going “all in” on a single show’s finite tourism boom is fine, lasting tourism development is based on governments continuing to provide incentives for filmmakers to shoot projects in their country, so the tourist interest in various locations can be sustained long-term. It’ll be interesting to see what moves Dubrovnik makes as Game of Thrones fever breaks…if it ever does. HBO is developing five prequel shows, after all.
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