Films to provide “extraordinary opportunity” says HicktonTHE Hobbit films will provide New Zealand tourism with an “extraordinary opportunity” by drawing more people to New Zealand than the Rugby World Cup ever could, says former TNZ CEO George Hickton. The fi lms will generate more money and overseas interest than the All Blacks' win, and he urges New Zealand businesses to do everything - including getting staff to “put on hairy feet” - to attract visitors. The Hobbit 's effect could even be bigger than The Lord of the Rings films. “One of the things we have to do is get to understand the psyche of people who want to come and see it,” he says. “This is bigger than last time. You need to be actively aware of what it looks like, what the story is.“You need to talk about Hobbits, put on hairy feet. Do whatever you can to make sure that when people come to this place that you absolutely embrace it, that you ‘get it'. Frodo Baggins is going to be more important to tourism than Daniel Carter kicking off in the Rugby World Cup.” Mr Hickton was speaking in Hamilton where he said Waikato businesses are the luckiest in the country with the Hobbiton film set “just down the road”. The set of The Shire, which features 44 “Hobbit holes”, was first built on Russell Alexander's farm near Matamata for the Lord of the Rings trilogy in 1999. Initially it was to be bulldozed but Mr Alexander turned the set into a tourism venture, Hobbiton Movie Set and Farm Tours. Many Lord of the Rings sites in Queenstown form part of very popular “Lord of the Rings” Tours which can easily be Booked through your Pounamu Apartments accommodation Reception. When filming began on the prequels to the trilogy, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and There and Back Again , last year, the set was rebuilt using permanent materials and will remain as a tourism drawcard. Mr Hickton said the films sparked an emotive response in people, giving them an ongoing relationship with a country, and formed part of the decision-making process to travel there. Statistics show that 80 percent of Britons who plan a holiday here did so after seeing the film locations on the big screen. Wellington's Weta Cave, a mini-museum joined on to Weta Workshop - the special effects artists behind Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King , as well as the biggest-grossing movie of all time, Avatar - attracted 100,000 visitors, 70 per cent of them international, each year, reports the NZ Herald. Hobbiton itself was the “premier” location of all the Middle Earth destinations in New Zealand, and has attracted 266,000 people since opening, a 60 percent increase because of renewed interest ahead of The Hobbit . Once again Queenstown sites have been used for Hobbit filming locations so an influx of fans will again be pouring in and convenient located accommodation can be booked at the luxurious Pounamu Apartments. |
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