Tolkien tourism
Encyclopedia
Tolkien tourism is a phenomenon of fans of The Lord of the Rings
fictional universe travelling to sites of film- and book-related significance. It is especially notable in New Zealand
, site of the movie trilogy by Peter Jackson
, where it is credited as having raised the annual tourism numbers.
(The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
) based the novel by J. R. R. Tolkien
were shot in various locations throughout New Zealand, and many of these locations have been preserved and altered to encourage the tourism that makes up a significant portion of the country’s economy. Tourists sometimes travel dressed as characters from the books or films, indulging in what is known throughout fandom
as cosplay
. Avid fans traveling to both well-known and obscure locations related to The Lord of the Rings are referred to as Tolkien tourists.
It is the same for a beech forest in Paradise near Queenstown
. On screen, these are the woods of Lothlórien, home to Tolkien’s elves
. These, and other locations around New Zealand, have become famous as the set of Tolkien’s Middle-earth.
Film NZ—the national film promotion board—advertises that New Zealand offers an English-speaking, largely nonunion work force, along with a kaleidoscope of urban and rural landscapes. "Experience New Zealand, Home of Middle Earth," urges Tourism New Zealand's Web site(reference outdated), and once tourists get there, they are invited to find film locations around New Zealand with a free "Middle Earth map."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.
Jan Howard Finder, the science fiction
writer, has organized special hostel
-based tours of New Zealand to see places filmed in Lord of the Rings.
.
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 $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'.
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
fictional universe travelling to sites of film- and book-related significance. It is especially notable in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, site of the movie trilogy by Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
, where it is credited as having raised the annual tourism numbers.
Origins
The three filmsThe Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
(The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic fantasy-drama film directed by Peter Jackson that is based on the second and third volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings...
) based the novel by J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
were shot in various locations throughout New Zealand, and many of these locations have been preserved and altered to encourage the tourism that makes up a significant portion of the country’s economy. Tourists sometimes travel dressed as characters from the books or films, indulging in what is known throughout fandom
Fandom
Fandom is a term used to refer to a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of sympathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest...
as cosplay
Cosplay
, short for "costume play", is a type of performance art in which participants don costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea. Characters are often drawn from popular fiction in Japan, but recent trends have included American cartoons and science fiction...
. Avid fans traveling to both well-known and obscure locations related to The Lord of the Rings are referred to as Tolkien tourists.
In New Zealand
New Zealand is in a unique position to capitalize on its scenery. Tolkien tourist attention is less geared towards visiting New Zealand's national parks and more focused on scenery that was used as back drops in movies. For example, Mount Olympus, dramatic pillars of rock carved out by nature and time, sits in Kahurangi National Park near Nelson in a remote corner of the South Island. Since it featured in The Fellowship of the Ring, the first of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Mount Olympus has become a spot for Tolkien tourists.It is the same for a beech forest in Paradise near Queenstown
Queenstown, New Zealand
Queenstown is a resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand's South Island. It is built around an inlet called Queenstown Bay on Lake Wakatipu, a long thin Z-shaped lake formed by glacial processes, and has spectacular views of nearby mountains....
. On screen, these are the woods of Lothlórien, home to Tolkien’s elves
Elf (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Elves are one of the races that inhabit a fictional Earth, often called Middle-earth, and set in the remote past. They appear in The Hobbit and in The Lord of the Rings, but their complex history is described more fully in The Silmarillion...
. These, and other locations around New Zealand, have become famous as the set of Tolkien’s Middle-earth.
Film NZ—the national film promotion board—advertises that New Zealand offers an English-speaking, largely nonunion work force, along with a kaleidoscope of urban and rural landscapes. "Experience New Zealand, Home of Middle Earth," urges Tourism New Zealand's Web site(reference outdated), and once tourists get there, they 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.
Jan Howard Finder, the science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
writer, has organized special hostel
Hostel
Hostels provide budget oriented, sociable accommodation where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed, in a dormitory and share a bathroom, lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex, although private rooms may also be available...
-based tours of New Zealand to see places filmed in Lord of the Rings.
Economic effects
The annual tourist influx to New Zealand jumped from 1.7 million in 2000 to 2.4 million in 2006 - a 40 percent surge - which some have attributed to be to a large degree due to The Lord of the Rings phenomenon. "You can argue that Lord of the Rings was the best unpaid advertisement that New Zealand has ever had" as noted by Bruce Lahood, United States and Canadian regional manager for Tourism New ZealandTourism New Zealand
Tourism New Zealand is the national institution tasked with promoting New Zealand as a tourism destination internationally. It is the trading name of the New Zealand Tourism Board, a Crown entity established under the New Zealand Tourism Board Act 1991...
.
'The Hobbit' filming
Many experts and New Zealanders are hoping for a renewed Tolkien effect due to the fact that The Hobbit will also be 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 $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'.
South Africa and United Kingdom
Tolkien tourism has also existed to a lesser extent independent from the Jackson movies. Most notable are the following destinations:- OxfordOxfordThe city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
: aside from the colleges where Tolkien taught, the pubs he and the InklingsInklingsThe Inklings was an informal literary discussion group associated with the University of Oxford, England, for nearly two decades between the early 1930s and late 1949. The Inklings were literary enthusiasts who praised the value of narrative in fiction, and encouraged the writing of fantasy...
frequented and his former homes, The Tolkien Society organizes the Oxonmoot in one of the colleges September each year. In 1992 the centennial was also celebrated in Oxford. - BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, United Kingdom: in 2005, The Tolkien Society hosted Tolkien 2005 at Aston UniversityAston UniversityAston University is a "plate glass" campus university situated at Gosta Green, in the city centre of Birmingham, England.Established in 1895 as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School, Aston was granted its Royal Charter as Aston University on 22 April 1966...
in the city where Tolkien lived and taught for many years to celebrate The Lord of the Rings 50th anniversary. - BloemfonteinBloemfonteinBloemfontein is the capital city of the Free State Province of South Africa; and, as the judicial capital of the nation, one of South Africa's three national capitals – the other two being Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Pretoria, the administrative capital.Bloemfontein is popularly and...
, Free StateFree StateThe Free State is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Orange Free State Boer republic and later Orange Free State Province. The current borders of the province date from 1994 when the Bantustans...
, South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
: Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein on January 3 1892. The Bank of AfricaBank of AfricaBank of Africa is a multinational bank in Africa. Its first office was founded in Bamako, Mali in 1982.-Branches and subsidiaries:Bank of Africa:*BOA Group*Banque de l'Habitat du Benin in Cotonou, Benin*BOA Burkina Faso*BOA Côte d'Ivoire...
building site has been recovered (a commemoration plaque used to be on the new building on the lot but this was later moved elsewhere due to theft risk), the grave of Tolkien's father has been recovered and a new tombstone erected. In addition, the Anglican church where Tolkien was baptized still stands, inclusive of the baptismBaptismIn Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
font. Tolkien's father's last will and testament (written in Dutch) can also be read at one of the municipal offices. The National Afrikaans Literary Museum also has a number of copies of Die Smid van Groot-WoottonSmith of Wootton MajorSmith of Wootton Major, first published in 1967, is a novella by J. R. R. Tolkien.-Background:The book began as an attempt to explain the meaning of Faery by means of a story about a cook and his cake. This was intended to be part of a preface by Tolkien to George MacDonald's famous fairy story...
, the only book by Tolkien translated in Afrikaans.
See also
- Impact on popular culture of Lord of the Rings