The cruise ships tie up in Belfast these days. They didn't used to. For decades, Northern Ireland meant trouble, actually "The Troubles" to be exact. Belfast and its neighboring cities were associated with bombs, riots and army patrols.

Now the giant five-storey floating hotels disgorge streams of international passengers eager to visit the many, many shooting locations for the hit TV series Game of Thrones.

Giant's Causeway and the political halls at Stormont are, of course, also on the agenda, but top billing is reserved for some more obscure destinations.

There's Tollymore Forest park where the Whitewalkers were first seen. Pollnagollum cave, which the Brotherhood without Banners made their hideout, or Slemish mountain which stood in for the Dothraki grasslands.

On the foundations of this global pubic fascination for the series, Northern Ireland has successfully built a thriving film and television production industry.

In 2009, three television dramas were shot there. In 2018, nine dramas series were shot and produced, as well as six feature films. Estimated revenues for next year already stand at around £300 million ($372 million).

And add to that spending from the estimated 350,000 visitors coming in every year.

That's serious money in a region with fewer than two million people.

"I think if you see how all this started all those years ago, and see where we are now," says Robin Morgan, founder of Little Giant Films, just one of dozens of production companies that have sprung up in the past five years. "The whole landscape's completely changed. There's a whole reborn industry because of the big shows coming in."

An enormous new studio complex is nearing completion at the Docks in Belfast, and there's already talk of more in the planning stages.

"Prior to Game of Thrones, we had a good level of production in Northern Ireland," says Andrew Reid, head of production at Northern Ireland Screen, the national screen agency for the province. "Now we have a sustainable level that allows people to work consistently throughout the year in their chosen profession."

When landowner James Stuart planted 150 beech trees in 1775, little did he realize that 240 years later their 30-second appearance in episode 1 season 2 of the series would light a beacon of international fame and pilgrimage. Now the Dark Hedges, splendid as the area is, is one of the most visited sites in Northern Ireland.