Slightly Disappointing Ruins and the Facades of Tourist Imagery

Abstract:

This article explores ruins perceived as disappointing and computer-generated imagery (CGI) in the context of film induced tourism. Specifically, we take a closer look at how CGI for the popular Game of Thrones television series has influenced travelers’ expectations and local guides’ repertoires on selected locations in Croatia. The authors ask: what kind of contemporary artefact is a CGI-still; how does it relate to other “standard” material artefacts used or (re)constructed within heritage tourism? Building on episodic observations from fieldwork on the coast of Dalmatia since 2016, and through a small detour to the earliest backlots and filmset facades of Hollywood’s Golden Age, Frederiksen and Ulfstjerne argue that CGI-stills are a layer unto locations that has practical, material, economic and social consequences. Contributing to larger debates over authenticity and commodification in tourism-and heritage studies, we argue that these added “fictive” layers become part of local history, and potentially also to local heritage.