Tolkien tourism consists ofmedia pilgrimages byfans ofTolkien's fiction andPeter Jackson'sThe 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 annualtourism significantly.
The Lord of the Rings film series byPeter Jackson, based onJ. R. R. Tolkien'snovel of the same name, were shot at locations throughout New Zealand. Many of these places have been preserved and altered to encourage themedia pilgrimage tourism that makes up a significant portion of the country's economy. On someLord of the Rings film location tours, tourists are provided time to indulge incosplay, and dress as characters from the books or films.[1]
New Zealand is well placed to capitalize on its scenery. Tolkien tourist attention is less geared to visiting New Zealand'snational parks and more focused on scenery that was used as backdrops in Peter Jackson's films. For example,Mount Olympus is inKahurangi National Park nearNelson in a remote corner of the South Island. Since it featured inThe Fellowship of the Ring, Mount Olympus has become a spot for Tolkien tourists.[2]
Mount Sunday, in a remote area west of theCanterbury Plains (upper reaches of theRangitata Valley 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.[3]
The New Zealand Film Commission, 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.[4]
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 toThe Lord of the Rings phenomenon.[5] 6% of international visitors cited the film as a reason for travelling to the country.[6] "You can argue thatLord of the Rings was the best unpaid advertisement that New Zealand has ever had", said Bruce Lahood, United States and Canadian regional manager forTourism New Zealand.[5] An article published by The New York Times contradicts Lahood, stating that New Zealand subsidized the movie trilogy with $150 million.[6]
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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 indigenousMāori population andtheir 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 ofcolonialism, a sort of soft colonialism: by makingAotearoa a proxy of England, you say Aotearoais England".[7]
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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 inOxford, England. The colleges where Tolkien taught, the pubs that he and theInklings frequented, the church he attended, and his former homes in the city all attract tourist interest. TheEagle and Child pub used to capitalise on Tolkien's former patronage in its signage and interior decoration.[8]
