July 24 (SeeNews) - Tourists visiting Croatia's coastal city of Dubrovnik motivated by HBO's fantasy series Game of Thrones have earned the Dubrovnik-Neretva County 126 million euro ($146.9 million) between 2012 to 2015, the Zagreb-based Institute of Economics said.
The filming of Game of Thrones in Dubrovnik has had significantly positive effects on tourism in the area, attracting 244,415 more tourist arrivals between 2012 and 2015, and over 1.4 million overnight stays, the institute said in a research paper last week.
Being one of the most popular TV series, Game of Thrones started filming in Dubrovnik in 2011, in its second season.
Given the series' medieval context and Dubrovnik's rich and well preserved cultural and architectural heritage, the city was chosen to represent King's Landing - the capital and largest city of the Seven Kingdoms appearing frequently throughout the series.
"These images of Dubrovnik impressed a massive audience generating a global recognition of Dubrovnik and stimulating a strong tourist demand", the researchers said.
Dubrovnik is known for its distinctive Old Town, encircled with massive stone walls completed in the 16th century.
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