Girona learns to play the game
Since Catalonia's provincial capital became the key location for filming of the hit TV series Game of Thrones, the local tourist industry has boomed with more initiatives in the pipeline
Labyrinthine cobbled streets, medieval churches, ancient fortresses, all surrounded by fortified walls and towers —if you could think up a stage set for “Game of Thrones” Girona would be it.” This is how an article in the travel section of a recent edition of the New York Post describes Catalonia's northern provincial capital. ““Game of Thrones” puts the Spanish city on the map,” goes the headline, and it seems true that being chosen as the location for a major TV series has established Girona's place on the international tourist map.
As has happened with other places –Northern Ireland, Malta, Dubrovnik, Seville– providing the setting for the biggest TV hit of the moment has done the local tourist industry no harm at all. These days Girona's old quarter is becoming increasingly full of wandering groups of tourists of all nationalities, many keen to see the place their favourite television show was filmed. With the recent airing of the sixth season of Game of Thrones, Girona has enjoyed weekly global exposure of the sort not even the most expensive advertising campaigns can buy.
Cultural tourism
Yet, is the city prepared for this level of attention? A recent study that has still not been published, by the professors Francesc Xavier Medina (UOC) and Pere Parramon (UdG), insists it is, above all because Girona already has a long tradition of developing cultural tourism. What is not so clear is how long the phenomenon might last. For some time now initiatives have been appearing attempting to link Game of Thrones with the city's image. From t-shirts to mugs, ice creams based on characters from the series (by Jordi Roca) or a Khaleesi cocktail (by Marina Vilanova), merchandising has been the first area attempting to take advantage of the city's new popular cultural profile.
Yet, things are only just getting going and it's from now on that we are likely to see real consolidation of this relationship, with the local council leading the way. As well as actual guided visits of the show's locations, a mobile app will soon offer virtual tours of the same places. Meanwhile, this month, Casa Pastors is hosting an exhibition about Girona as a filming location, with Game of Thrones naturally taking centre stage.
