HBO fantasy epic 'Game of Thrones' has reportedly boosted Northern Ireland's economy by an estimated €77 million, according to Northern Ireland Screen's Head of Marketing Moyra Lock.
In a recent interview, Ms. Lock confirmed that the show's success acts not only as a shot in the arm for the local economy, but also carries significant weight in the tourism sector.
Ms. Lock said: ‘When people see ‘Game Of Thrones’ on the TV they will see a whole different side to Northern Ireland – they see the beautiful locations here.’
Indeed, fans eager to see the countryside behind key scenes in the mythical Seven Kingdoms of Westeros can take guided tours of the various locations around Antrim, as well as availing of the many events based in Belfast's city centre such as the costume exhibition in the Titanic museum or the GOT-inspired fan event Titancon, which regularly boasts appearances from the show's myriad cast and crew.
With three critically acclaimed seasons under its belt and the fourth due to wrap in mid-November, 'Game of Thrones' once again travels as far afield as Croatia and Iceland but maintains a main base of operations in Belfast's Paint Hall, the state of the art soundstage which has housed the production since its first season back in 2011.
'Game of Thrones' has regularly dominated ratings on both HBO and Sky Atlantic, with the third season's shocking penultimate episode 'The Rains of Castamere' drawing in 5.22 million cable viewers for HBO and topping all other shows aired that night.
Added to the show's ever-growing cast for season four, already featuring Irish actors Ciarán Hinds and Liam Cunnignham, actress Jane McGrath ('Black Ice') will appear as one of Mance Raydar's wildlings Beyond The Wall, as revealed in a previous interview with IFTN.
In keeping with previous seasons, 'Game of Thrones' season four is expected to air on Sky Atlantic and HBO in the spring of 2014.
