citymedia.co.nz

It's not directors, actors, gaffers and editors who are working around the clock, however. New Zealand's tourism industry is taking steps to make definite that there's no missed opportunities with The Hobbit. So-called 'Tolkien Tourism' is sizable business in New Zealand.

This current project is a golden opportunity to plant New Zealand firmly in the imaginations of a brand new generation of film-goers. It is difficult to overstate the impact which Jackson's trilogy had on tourism in New Zealand. The annual tourist inflow climbed from one.7 million in 2000 to two.4 million in 2006 - a 40% surge. As visitor numbers continued to increase, tour operations catering for LOTR pilgrims gradually sprung up across the islands. Glenorchy Air, who transported actors, costumes and rushes in the work of filming, today run every day 'Trilogytrail' flights through the Queenstown area. Further north, in Nelson, Reid Heslop Helicopters offer a champagne picnic atop Mount Olympus.

Hoards of tourists continue to visit New Zealand specifically to traipse along Hobbit pathways, have their photos taken at the way in to Hobbiton and stare at replica swords, flags and helmets. Today, tourism contributes 9% of the country's GDP, and the pulling power of Middle Earth is valued at a hefty share of that.

Hence the nationwide panic in October 2010, when an actor's strike threatened to derail filming in New Zealand and countries such as Slovenia and Northern Ireland were floated as options. The worth of The Hobbit to the film and tourism industries of New Zealand has been estimated at £954 million, yet the cost would have been even greater: To a brand new generation of cinema-goers, Middle Earth would have moved to Europe.