Hobbit tourism

The hobbits have taken over New Zealand again this week.

Agriculture is the backbone of the New Zealand economy, but it is closely followed by tourism, which accounts for 9% of GDP and employs one in 10 New Zealanders.

Like the Philippines, tourism is a high priority for the New Zealand Government, so much so that the Prime Minister is also the country’s Minister of Tourism.

The tourism industry has remained buoyant even as developed economies have undergone belt tightening in the wake of the global financial crisis. Although the number of tourists from traditional markets such as the UK and US has trailed off slightly, this has been offset by increased interest from Asia in particular. Last year, New Zealand attracted over 2.5 million tourists to its shores, more than one tourist to each two New Zealanders. Half a million of those tourists came from Asia. As more Asian capitals become linked to Auckland by a direct air service, New Zealand is only one hop away.

Although New Zealand is consistently ranked by travel publications as one of the world’s top tourism destinations, this is not a status we can take for granted. As in the Philippines, a catchy marketing slogan has supported New Zealand’s tourism marketing drive. For the past decade, the slogan “100% Pure New Zealand” has been plastered on advertising across the world to compel tourists to experience a pure tourism experience in New Zealand, from pristine landscapes to pure adventure.

That campaign has, in recent times, been cleverly adapted to leverage the association that New Zealand has enjoyed with, first, the trilogy of Lord of the Rings films and now the Hobbit, based on the novels by JRR Tolkien.

New Zealand born and based Sir Peter Jackson, the director of the films, has been instrumental in bringing the sweeping New Zealand landscapes to big screens all over the world. But marketing experts have taken this a step further by partnering with Warner Brothers to jointly market both the films and New Zealand. This week, once again, New Zealand goes Hobbit-mad, as the second film in the second trilogy – the Desolation of Smaug opens across the world.

An Air New Zealand plane with Smaug the Dragon painted across its fuselage, and carrying Sir Peter as well as a clutch of film stars and tourism officials, landed last week in LA for the film’s premiere. The campaign for “100% Middle-earth, 100% Pure New Zealand” is again underway.

Since the Lord of the Rings trilogy, an average of 47,000 international visitors a year visit a film location associated with the films. Perhaps the most famous site is the Hobbiton film set in Matamata, in the North Island. Around 100,000 people visited the site last year.

Perhaps the success of campaigns such as “100% Pure” and “More Fun in the Philippines” is that they are able to encapsulate succinctly and evocatively some basic truths about the countries they represent.

Tourism NZ has recognised that by partnering with the travel industry, including our national airline, and now also with the makers of the Hobbit films, its marketing efforts can be magnified.

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(Reuben Levermore is the Ambassador of New Zealand.)