Ever since Game of Thrones initially aired on HBO back in 2011, it was immediately recognized as a smash hit. This epic fantasy series has quickly become one of the most popular shows in the entire world. Fans from all over the globe are gearing up for the season 5 premier that’s just around the corner on April 12th, and HBO is expecting a record-breaking number of viewers. While we all know that the show is very successful and beneficial for the actors, crew, network, and the writers involved, Game of Thrones is also having a tremendous financial impact on Croatia.
While large production series and films like Game of Thrones are filmed in a variety of different locations, Croatia remains as one of the primary locations. In the series the capital city of King’s Landing is filmed and based on the city of Dubrovnik: a charming city located right on the Mediterranean Sea. Now a large portion of the Croatian economy comes from tourism and vacationers, and Game of Thrones is brining an unprecedented amount of tourists to the country. Dubrovnik is primarily known as a vacation city, where it makes nearly all of its money from tourism. Many people felt that the filming of the series in the city would make tourists leave, but it is having quite the opposite effect.
Tourists that are flocking to Croatia are part of the travelers that are referred to as “set-jetters”. In recent years many fans of films and television wanted to travel and vacation to the destinations that are depicted in their favorite shows. This movement was largely started by the Lord of The Rings films that were filmed in New Zealand. These films acted as an example for just how beautiful New Zealand actually is. Many people were unfamiliar with the environmental diversity of New Zealand, but those films showed off how amazing the country is. Ever since, people have been traveling to these types of locations, and Croatia is the current hot spot. It’s also not just a few people either. In 2014 the Tourism Competitive Intelligence agency found that “45 million tourists chose a destination primarily because they saw a movie or a television show filmed in that country”. Since Game of Thrones is arguably the biggest show right now, many people are going to those locations in Croatia.
The Lord of the Rings brought in some $7 billion dollars of revenue to the New Zealand economy on just tourism, and many people feel that the tourists flocking to Croatia will also added a large amount to the nations economy. Many travel agencies are also taking notice of this trend. There are now many Game of Thrones travel packages where guides will take you on a tour of all the various locations where the series is filmed. Still, outside of the Game of Thrones world, Croatia has much to offer travelers as well. The country is very beautiful, rich with culture, and there are many historic sites and ruins. People are initially coming to see where Game of Thrones was filmed and then they are realizing just how amazing Croatia is. People often forget that a large part of the nation is located on the Mediterranean, and we all know just how beautiful that area is.
However it’s not just tourism that is having a large impact on the Croatian economy. The sets in Game of Thrones are massive and it is a large production, which means that there needs to be a large crew to support it. Every time they come to film, the local area experiences an influx of jobs as the show is creating them. People are brought onboard as translators, production assistants, local fixers, and a variety of other jobs. This in turn also has a large financial impact on the economy of Croatia.
It’s very interesting to see just how big of an impact a television show can have on a nations economy, and for Croatia, that impact is extremely positive. The nation is expected to dramatically increase their economy over the next few years largely due to the help of Game of Thrones and fans of the series.
Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
