Australia, China and the US will be Tourism New Zealand ’s priority markets as it prepares to cash in on the release this December of The Hobbit.
The two-part adaption of JRR Tolkien’s novel – the second film is set for release in December 2013 – will provide NZ with another global opportunity to sell the destination as Lord of the Rings did a decade ago, Tourism NZ chief executive Kevin Bowler said.
Marketing based around the movie will kick off in July, building on a “where fantasy is reality” concept, Bowler explained.
He said the idea emerged following a conversation between cast members as they walked on one of the sets.
“They commented to each other that if you didn’t know [the scenery] was real you’d think it was fake. We thought that was a remarkable thing to say and is a nice basis for promoting NZ,” Bowler said.
He added that an agreement is “very close” between Tourism NZ, Warner Brothers and Wingnut Films that will “take 100% Pure to the next level in terms of sharing some of the IP [intellectual property] from the film”.
“That will lift 100% Pure to a much wide audience and is going to help promote NZ to many more people,” he said.
The movie will particularly capture the imagination of the US market, he predicted.
New air connections over the next 12 months, most likely with United, also remained a hope from North America , he said.
Meanwhile, Germany and the UK will also be key markets in Europe , a region “that we are not giving up on”, Bowler said.
He told a media briefing at Trenz in Queenstown that traditional markets will remain the focus, despite the growth from Asia .
“There is only one Asian country in our top five so we are not giving up on our traditional long haul western markets,” Bowler said. “We see enormous value in them and we will continue to prioritise our efforts in those markets.”
However, Bowler acknowledged that Asia will become more important than Europe within 10 years.
Hobbit to lure visitors to NZ
