New Zealand’s blockbuster film locations have moved visitors to tears, with Lord of the Rings scenes likened to the Holy Grail – but Wellington is falling short. A study of film tourism by Anne Buchmann, tourism management lecturer at Victoria University Management School, reveals a thriving industry with more than 35 operators nationwide offering tours linked to films including The Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, The Last Samurai and Whale Rider. Dr Buchmann said the industry was worth millions, with 30,000 tourists a year visiting Lord of the Rings site Hobbiton, on private farmland near Matamata. The last film in the Rings trilogy was released in 2002. Adults pay $58 to visit the hobbit village, which has largely been returned to its original state though it still has 17 remaining “hobbit holes” and some film set remnants. Capital falls short on movie tours
Category: New Zealand
Dr. Baggins sends in word on a Seminar at the Victoria University of Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand. “The Bigger Picture: Film Tourism in Aotearoa New Zealand” will be held on Thursday March 6 2008 at 12:30PM to 1:30PM (RH MZ 05, Mezzanine Floor, Rutherford House, 23 Lambton Quay, Pipitea Campus). To be presented by Dr. Anne Buchmann, Victoria Management School. Continue reading “NZ Film Industry Lecture at Victoria University”
JW writes: Looks like the Ringers on a LOTR tour got a double treat recently as they came upon the Wolverine movie set while on the jeep tour. Looking for Hobbits…Fans find Mutants
Some landowners on existing “Lord of the Rings” film locations have been approached again by film location scouts, says Red Carpet Tours LOTR film location tour director Vic James. Continue reading “Location Scouts Scope New Zealand”
Lynnette writes: Walking Tree Publishers’ new LotR-themed book, How We Became Middle-earth: A Collection of Essays on The Lord of the Rings, features 24 essays by Tolkien scholars from around the world. Edited by Adam Lam and Nataliya Oryschchuk (University of Canterbury, Christchurch, NZ), the book covers a wide range of topics about New Zealand’s connections with LotR.
If you have a spare couple of weeks to take a tour of New Zealand next October, Red Carpet Tours has setup a wonderful tour that includes Daniel Reeve. He will be leading sketching workshops and traveling with the group to a variety of locations where the Lord of the Rings movies were filmed. I haven’t had the pleasure of taking one of these tours, but according to the people who have, they are fantastic. [More]