Peter Jackson's movies will boost tourismTHE HOBBIT: Expected to be a boom for the country's tourism industry. Relevant offersPeter Jackson's upcoming two-part blockbuster movies based on JRR Tolkien's book The Hobbit will bring precious windfalls for Kiwi tourism operators. With the release of part one – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – still 11 months away, international media heavyweights such as USA Today are already pushing New Zealand as a leading entertainment tourism destination. The American newspaper rates filming locations including the Waikato town of Matamata – widely known as Hobbiton since the release of Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy opener, The Fellowship of the Ring, in 2001 – and Queenstown's lakes region as must-sees. Matamata Piako deputy mayor Jan Barnes described the growing global hype as "very positive". The Lord of the Rings films had resulted in more than 20,000 people a year visiting the region for Tolkien-related tourism. USA Today recently wrote of Matamata: "There's a Welcome to Hobbiton sign and a statue of Gollum on the main drag. Wizards routinely show up and nobody bats an eye." The newspaper, which has a daily circulation of more than 1.7 million, also wrote glowingly of Tolkien tourism attractions that take in shooting locations in the Queenstown lakes region and the surrounding Southern Alps. Amanda Gatward-Ferguson, director of Queenstown-based Nomad Safaris, said the pending release of the first The Hobbit movie would be great for business. The company runs two different Lord of the Rings tours, offering punters the chance to visit shooting locations in either the Wakatipu Basin or Glenorchy. We include Free Pick up and return from Pounamu Apartments, highly recommended for your accommodation. "It [The Hobbit] has revived a lot of interest," Gatward-Ferguson said. "Yes, everybody is excited about it. But we have always seen a lot of media interest ... there has always been interest in The Lord of the Rings. It never died like people thought it would. "It [overseas interest] is definitely helping tourism." Tourism New Zealand public affairs general manager Suzanne Carter has said The Hobbit would provide a great opportunity to promote the country "in a unique way and to raise awareness of New Zealand as a visitor destination". "As with the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Tourism New Zealand will be looking at every opportunity to leverage the profile of The Hobbit to promote New Zealand." Carter said. - © Fairfax NZ News
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