Jon Snow isn’t the only thing being brought back from the dead (this isn’t confirmed, but we have hope) on Game of Thrones, a Spanish town owes its recent tourism resurrection entirely to the fantasy series.
Before we go into detail, who watched the latest episode? How crazy was that ending? Definitely puts a new light on all those prior Red Witch sex scenes.
Back to the story.
GQ travel writer, Micky Rapkin, recently stopped by the Spanish town of Osuna, which he says was severely hit during the 2008 global economic crisis. Jobs were scarce, an entire generation of young people left for bigger cities and those left behind struggled to make ends meat.
That was the case until 2014 when one internationally recognised TV series, Game of Thrones, rocked up with some 5,000 cast and crew.
The small town of just 18,000 people was suddenly the place 86,000 people wanted to be just to get a taste of the hit show.
Rapkin says thousands of people from around Spain travelled to the destination in the hopes of being cast as a Game of Thrones extra.
With people back in town, so too came the money. Local Raquel Muñoz Pradas described the show’s arrival as “an angel that had fallen from heaven” because suddenly pubs, restaurants and hotels were full.
Meanwhile, a new Cheapflights study found 10 other destinations around Europe are also experiencing high travel demand thanks to the show.
Following the season’s trailer release earlier this month, nationwide searches to Scotland went up by 29 percent, Ireland increased 25 percent and Morocco went up 23 percent.
Cheapflights Managing Director, Andrew Shelton said he expects searches for these destinations to increase this week after last night’s season six premiere.
“Over the next few months, fans will be inspired to follow in characters’ footsteps and seek out locations across Spain, the Mediterranean and Scotland as well as some of the lesser known spots in Iceland and Croatia.”
Andrew Shelton, Cheapflights Managing Director