Power of the 'Ring' lures thousands

More than 7 per cent of tourists to New Zealand were brought here by The Lord of the Rings trilogy, a survey shows.

That is the equivalent of more than 76,400 people over nine months of last year.

The results confirm the continuing spin-offs the Rings movies have brought to the tourism industry and will delight tourism business operators who have set up Rings-related tours and attractions.

Questions relating to the Rings movies have been included in the International Visitor Survey - the official Government measure of tourists' travel patterns and spending - since early last year, before the final instalment of the trilogy, The Return of the King, was released in December.

Visitors were asked if they had heard of the Rings films and if they knew they were filmed in New Zealand.

Almost 90 per cent of all tourists questioned knew the films were made in New Zealand.

A small number - equal to about 2300 tourists during the nine-month period - said the films were the only reason they came to New Zealand. Another 5100 said it was their main reason for coming.

It is estimated the two groups would have spent a total of $24.7 million while they were in the country.

Another 69,000 people said the movies were one of the reasons they travelled to New Zealand.

And the main reason most of them came was because of the outstanding scenery in the movies.

More than 30,000 tourists said they had taken in a "Rings experience" while they were in New Zealand but most had visited a filming site independently, rather than take part in an organised tour.

Tourism NZ chief George Hickton said in the latest Tourism News that it would be surprising if a big number of tourists was coming to New Zealand solely because of the films. "However, this information suggests that The Lord of the Rings has made a significant contribution to raising New Zealand's profile in several of our key markets."

- NZPA