Tolkien tourism consists of by Tolkien fandom of Tolkien's fiction and Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy to sites related to the book and films. In Jackson's New Zealand, it is credited as having raised annual tourism significantly.
Origins
The Lord of the Rings film series by
Peter Jackson, based on J. R. R. Tolkien's novel of the same name, were shot at locations throughout New Zealand. Many of these places have been preserved and altered to encourage the
media pilgrimage tourism that makes up a significant portion of the country's economy. On some
Lord of the Rings film location tours, tourists are provided time to indulge in
cosplay, and dress as characters from the books or films.
In New Zealand
New Zealand is well placed to capitalize on its scenery. Tolkien tourist attention is less geared to visiting New Zealand's
national parks and more focused on scenery that was used as backdrops in Peter Jackson's films. For example, Mount Olympus is in Kahurangi National Park near Nelson in a remote corner of the South Island. Since it featured in
, Mount Olympus has become a spot for Tolkien tourists.
Mount Sunday, in a remote area west of the Canterbury plains (upper reaches of the Rangitata River near Erewhon) served as the location of Edoras. Although no traces of the filming remain, complete day tour packages to it are available from Christchurch.
Film NZ—the national film promotion board—advertises that New Zealand offers a kaleidoscope of urban and rural landscapes. Tourists are invited to find film locations around New Zealand with a free "Middle Earth map." Currently New Zealand is negotiating with Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema, the films' producers, to construct a permanent Lord of the Rings museum for some of the 40,000 props and costumes now warehoused in New Zealand.
Economic effects
The annual tourist influx to New Zealand grew 40%, from 1.7 million in 2000 to 2.4 million in 2006, has been attributed in large part to
The Lord of the Rings phenomenon.
6% of international visitors cited the film as a reason for traveling to the country.
"You can argue that
Lord of the Rings was the best unpaid advertisement that New Zealand has ever had", said Bruce Lahood, United States and Canadian regional manager for Tourism New Zealand.
An article published by The New York Times contradicts Lahood, stating that New Zealand subsidized the movie trilogy with $150 million.
File:Mt. Sunday (Erewhon).jpg |Mount Sunday (filming location of Edoras)
File:Tongariro Nationalpark Mount Ruhapeu.JPG |Mount Ngauruhoe served as Mount Doom in the films.
File:Hobbit holes on the hillside.jpg |The Lord of the Rings "Hobbiton" film set was renovated and re-used for The Hobbit trilogy, and is maintained to that standard for set tours.
The Hobbit filming
Many experts and New Zealanders hoped for a renewed Tolkien effect because
The Hobbit was also filmed in New Zealand.
Whether or not this was vitally important to New Zealand's tourism industry was a big debating point during short-lived fears that industrial disputes could make the film production occur outside of the country. The government of New Zealand also saw some criticism for increasing movie subsidies and creating laws tailored for US movie companies, solely out of fear of losing the production. Some have subsequently called the price of $25 million (in further financial subsidies and specific laws made for the producers benefit) that New Zealand had to pay to retain the movie 'extortionate' and argued that the discussion had occurred in a climate of 'hyperbole and hysteria'.
In other places
Tolkien tourism has existed to a lesser extent independent from the Jackson movies, in other places associated with him. Tolkien worked for much of his career in
Oxford, England. The colleges where Tolkien taught, the pubs that he and the
Inklings frequented, the church he attended, and his former homes in the city all attract tourist interest. The Eagle and Child pub used to capitalise on Tolkien's former patronage in its signage and interior decoration.
Criticism
New Zealanders have commented on the pervasiveness of Tolkien tourism, and the presentation of New Zealand internationally in terms of the Tolkien films. It has been argued that this covers up the country's precolonial history with its indigenous Māori population and their culture. The speculative fiction writer Sascha Stronach called it "suffocating" and while pointing out Tolkien's works' English elements stating the association "a cruel echo of
colonialism, a sort of soft colonialism: by making
Aotearoa a proxy of England, you say Aotearoa
is England".
See also
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Impact on popular culture of the Lord of the Rings
