Northern Ireland trying to boost tourism with Game of Thrones-themed stunts

We’ve written before about how Game of Thrones has helped the economy of Northern Ireland. Locations throughout the country stand in for several important Game of Thrones locales, including Winterfell, Dragonstone, and the King’s Road, and the show’s popularity has turned them into tourist attractions. Northern Ireland is taking advantage of that by mounting a series of very public Thrones-related advertisements, because why buy an ad in some magazine when you can sell dragon’s eggs in a city market?

First up, Tourism Ireland has set up signs throughout the country pointing the way toward some of the locations where the show has filmed.

The three-eyed ravens on top of some of the signs is a nice touch. Next, Tourism Ireland headed to the Belfast City Airport, where it crammed a bin reserved for sharp objects full of swords, maces, and other objects you probably don’t want knocking around in the overhead bin.

Finally, visitors to St. George’s Market in Belfast may have recently seen “Targaryen farmed dragon eggs” for sale. Reportedly, the eggs were remotely controlled and would vibrate when people got close, which could have been delightful or annoying depending on how their day was going.

Whether or not these public stunts actually drum up tourism dollars is a question for another day, but Tourism Ireland intends to keep them up. Other events are scheduled, including ones designated “Signs of Giants,” “Flocking to Belfast,” “White Walker Marks,” and “A Fiery Spectacle.” Might we suggest, “Public beheading?” No? Probably for the best.

• Published on 04/23/2015 at 1:55 PM CDT
• Last updated on 10/21/2016 at 1:05 PM CDT