Game of Thrones' Kit Harington causes controversy with comments about Belfast

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Actor Kit Harington made the comments on Late Night with Seth Myers
He said Belfast is 'wonderful for two or three days', drawing laughter
Harington plays the character Jon Snow on the hit HBO programme
He appeared on the talk show to promote Game of Thrones' new series

By Chris Kitching for MailOnline

Published: 03:57 EST, 9 April 2015 | Updated: 05:31 EST, 9 April 2015

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Northern Ireland's tourism board is hitting back at actor Kit Harington after the Game of Thrones heartthrob cracked a few jokes at the expense of its capital city.

Harington, who plays the character Jon Snow, poked fun at Belfast and tourism bosses when he appeared on a late-night chat show to promote the HBO series’ return to TV screens.

The 28-year-old Londoner joked to host Seth Myers that Belfast is ‘wonderful for two or three days’ and emphasized that he has spent five years filming in the city, drawing laughter from a studio audience.

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Game of Thrones star Kit Harington told host Seth Myers that Belfast is 'wonderful for two or three days'

Northern Ireland is a principal filming location for Game of Thrones, which has a studio in Belfast, and fans travel from all corners of the world to visit beauty spots where scenes are shot.

Tourism bosses have leveraged the show’s popularity to draw visitors and they said it has helped Belfast to become one of the most popular city break destinations in the UK.

In a brief exchange on Monday night’s show Myers, host of Late Night with Seth Myers, which airs on NBC in the US, pointed out that Game of Thrones films in ‘a lot of incredible locations’, including Croatia and Spain.

He added: ‘Your part isn’t in the nice places. What would you say to the traveller going to Belfast, or the tourist going to Belfast?’

Kit Harington jokes about filming in Belfast with Seth Meyers

The Londoner plays the character Jon Snow on the HBO programme, which is set to return for a fifth series

Harington said: ‘It’s wonderful for two or three days.’

Myers said: ‘And you’ve been there for years?’

Drawing more laughter from the audience, Harington replied: ‘Five years. No, I have to be careful about what I say.’

Harington added: ‘They’ve got a wonderful tourist board. They celebrate three things, which is having the most bombed hotel in Europe, which is great … and they built the Titanic, which is a ship that sunk on its maiden voyage and now they have Game of Thrones, the most depressing TV show in history. So it’s a wonderful, depressing tourist board.’

Host Seth Myers didn't include Belfast when he identified Game of Thrones' 'incredible' filming locations

Harington, appearing on Late Night with Seth Myers, said Belfast has a 'wonderful, depressing' tourism board

In response to the interview a Tourism Northern Ireland spokeswoman said the filming of Game of Thrones as a ‘key asset and a key area for growth in Northern Ireland.’

The spokeswoman told MailOnline Travel: 'Belfast and Northern Ireland is recognised as a great short break destination.

'Belfast was recently voted, for a fourth consecutive year by TripAdvisor, as one of the UK’s top 10 best destinations among travellers from around the world.

'In recent years significant investment into our tourism infrastructure has created unique visitor experiences. This includes Titanic Belfast which was recently named Europe’s number one visitor attraction and since it’s opening in 2012 has exceeded visitor number expectations, attracting over two million visitors from across 145 countries.'

Tourism bosses said Titanic Belfast has attracted more than two million visitors from 145 countries

The Dark Hedges in Country Antrim is one of the most recognisable filming locations from Game of Thrones

Belfast was named the seventh best city break in the UK in this year’s TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards.

A spokeswoman for Visit Belfast added: ‘The success of big budget film and TV productions locating to Northern Ireland has provided the tourism industry with a unique and priceless opportunity to promote both our city and our spectacular rural setting to a truly global audience.

‘Belfast’s Titanic story and the filming of Game of Thrones at stunning sites across Northern Ireland have provided a powerful combination in attracting growing numbers to both Belfast and Northern Ireland over recent years.

‘Just as Titanic Belfast has become the city’s most popular visitor attraction, Game of Thrones, in its success, has created a demand for a growing number of tourism enterprises from bus tours, walking trails to activities such as archery and banquets.

‘All these complement the range of attractions, activities and events, great food and hospitality that Belfast and Northern Ireland already offers the short break visitor.’

Harington isn’t the first person affiliated with Game of Thrones to stir up controversy with comments about Belfast.

Last year HBO’s president of programming, Michael Lombardo, apologised after he told US magazine Vulture that the show’s producers were struggling to adapt to life there.

He said: 'It's a little bit of a personal challenge I don't think they contemplated when we initially found our location in Belfast, what that meant for them personally… Belfast is not the most cosmopolitan of cities to spend half of the year.'

He added: 'I don't think they have a hard time, but the good news is work keeps them busy, let's just say that.'