It is all about the experience - Tourists are flocking to Game of Thrones & House of the Dragon filming hot spots.
We have written recently about the need for experiences and the desire expressed by consumers to indulge in experiences which take them away from everyday norms and give them memories to keep and stories to tell.
According to recent research, it seems the release of House of Dragons reignited our passion for the show, as Google searches for ‘Game of Thrones filming locations’ have increased by 153% globally in the last 12 months.
Online entertainment experts from Slotbox.com analyzed a list of filming locations from both Game of Thrones and House of Dragons, to find out how many photographs have been taken at each location.
"Since the show aired last month, Google Trends data shows fans are keen to find out more about the iconic filming locations used to depict their favorite scenes. In August, searches for “House of Dragons filming locations” increased by 536% globally, suggesting a surge of fans are interested in these destinations.
It seems as though fans may be flocking to the UK, as the seaside town of Cornwall has three locations ranking as the most popular. St Michael’s Mount was used to portray Driftmark in Blackwater Bay and has 137,372 hashtags overall. Kyance Cove has 58,780 hashtags, which you might recognize as the Valyrian camp in the show.
Another hot spot popular with tourists is Holywell Bay Beach, where Daemon and Rhaenyra Targaryen were filmed on the beach together.
Iceland’s famous glacier Svínafellsjökull (11,336 hashtags) was also used during the filming of House of Dragons, which is part of Skaftafell National Park, popular with hikers and tourists. Meanwhile, over in Portugal, in the quaint village of Penha Garcia, producers fell in love with the castle ruins, which reportedly features in scenes throughout the series.
Further down the list, the quieter locations, Eldon Hill (118 hashtags) and Cave Dale (5,070) in Derbyshire, UK were also used in House of Dragons, making the perfect day out for fans who want to enjoy the fresh air.
In Granada, Spain, fans may recognize Castillo de La Calahorra from the show, which is another hidden gem (782 hashtags), along with Ciudad Monumental in Caceres, which is a Unesco World Heritage city. The city is having a moment in the spotlight with several photos of sets and props appearing on social media during filming.
With 86,616 hashtags overall, Kirkiufell mountain in Iceland is the most popular Game of Thrones filming location on Instagram. It was used in season 6 and 7, featuring as the "arrowhead mountain" that the Hound and the company north of the Wall see when capturing a wight.
Next with 80,601 hashtags is Bardenas Reales Nature Reserve in Northern Spain. The desert landscape was used in season 6, providing the perfect backdrop for the Dothraki sea. Other popular Spanish locations include the Alcázar de Sevilla (39,031 hashtags) which was used as the location for The Water Palaces of Dorne in season five, and Roman Bridge in Corboda (26,975 hashtags) which was used in this season to portray the Long Bridge in the Free City of Volantis.
Just a 15-minute ferry ride from Dubrovnik in Croatia is the tiny island of Lokrum, which attracts a notable amount of attention on Instagram with 76,956 hashtags. The botanical gardens were used in filming for Qarth garden scenes when Daenerys and her entourage attended a garden party in season 2.
Four locations from Northern Ireland also make the list, including the Dark Hedges in County Antrim (70,297), Dunluce Castle (38,862) and Castle Ward (18,167) which were both used to film Winterfell, and Tollymore Forest (18,003)."
It is interesting to see how the consumer continues to change and behave, and this does always give the industry the opportunity to embrace and support the experiences that the consumers seek.