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Positively Wellington Tourism Welcomes Announcement: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey world premiere date set

Wednesday 6 June 2012, 1:17PM

By Positively Wellington Tourism

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WELLINGTON CITY

The capital’s tourism operators will be bracing themselves for a surge of bookings and enquiries following today’s announcement The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will have its world premiere in Wellington on Wednesday 28 November, 2012.

Positively Wellington Tourism (PWT) Chief Executive David Perks says the city’s hotels will quickly fill up on the date of and surrounding the premiere and recommends fans act quickly if they wish to secure a spot.

“There is going to be a simply unmissable buzz pulsing through the coolest little capital in the world around the world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in November. Now that the date has been announced we recommend fans get booking their flights, tours and accommodation immediately to avoid disappointment.”

Thousands of fans are expected to descend into the central city to welcome and celebrate the film’s stars, crew and international press on Wednesday 28 November, but the opportunity for Wellington is well beyond the premiere date.

The legacy of the world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will last years, if not decades beyond Wednesday 28 November for both Wellington and New Zealand,” Mr Perks says. “It’s yet another incredible chance to showcase our city, hospitality and innovation to the world. As we’ve seen from our experience with The Lord of the Rings, the awareness and interest films of this type and scale drive has the ability to significantly increase international visitation.”

While you can’t tangibly forecast the number of visitors or dollars The Hobbit films will draw to Wellington, you can look at the transformation of the city and its $2200 a minute tourism industry that has occurred since the release of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Mr Perks says.

Wellington was dubbed a ‘city on the rise’ by Lonely Planet in 2007, then rose to the challenge and earned an upgrade to the ‘coolest little capital in the world’ and 4th top city in the world to visit for the publisher’s Best in Travel 2011. The film industry has played a lead role in both that transformation and international acclaim.”

International visitor arrivals into Wellington increased 50% in the decade from 2001 (the year of the first Lord of the Rings release) to 2010; American arrivals increased 54% across that period.

Film tours are still in high demand in Wellington over a decade on from the release of the last of the trilogy. Thanks to the world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in November this can certainly be expected to continue well into the future.”

NOTES TO EDITORS & FAQs

Positively Wellington Tourism (PWT)

PWT is the regional tourism organisation for Wellington. It is a council-controlled organisation primarily funded by Wellington City Council through the Downtown Levy, a targeted rate paid by commercial ratepayers in downtown Wellington.

Wellington Tourism statistics

Visitors spend over $2200 in the Wellington region per minute - $1.2 billion every year. (Source: Ministry of Economic Development Regional Tourism Data). Over four million visits are made to Wellington every year: 750,000 international and over 3.4 million domestic. (Source: Ministry of Economic Development Regional Tourism Data).

What will The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey world premiere be worth to Wellington?
A forecast figure has not been calculated, however as a comparison a McDermott Miller report into the The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King world premiere in 2003 estimated the single event contributed about $9.5 million in new spend into the Wellington economy.

What will be the tourism impact of The Hobbit films on Wellington?
You can’t directly associate the spotlight The Hobbit films and associated industry shines on Wellington as responsible for attracting a certain number of visitors or dollars, but you can look at the transformation of the city and growth in visitation and awareness it has experienced. Dubbed a ‘city on the rise’ by Lonely Planet in 2007, Wellington rose to the challenge and earned an upgrade to the ‘coolest little capital in the world’ for the publisher’s Best in Travel 2011. Named as the 4th top city in the world to visit in 2011, it was the first recognition of a New Zealand city in the annual collection of the world’s best trends, destinations, journeys and experiences. The filming of The Hobbit films was noted within this acclaim. International visitor arrivals into Wellington increased 50% in the decade from 2001 (the year of the first The Lord of the Rings release) to 2010; American arrivals increased 54% across this period. In Wellington, film-themed tours are still are highly in demand over a decade on from the release of the last of the trilogy.


How influential are films in driving international visitation to New Zealand?

A 2004 survey revealed that 6 percent of visitors to New Zealand (around 120,000 - 150,000 people) cite The Lord of the Rings as being one of the main reasons for visiting New Zealand. One per cent of visitors said that The Lord of the Rings was their main or only reason for visiting. This one per cent related to approximately $32.8m in spend (Average Expenditure: NZ$2,929 x 11,200 visitors = NZ$32.8 million). Source: Tourism New Zealand.

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