Hon Mark Burton: Launch of the Extended Edition of the Lord of the Rings Location Guide Date sent:

Mon, 9 Aug 2004

Launch of the Extended Edition of the Lord of the Rings Location Guide

As Minister of Tourism I have had a first hand glimpse of the vital role The Lord of the Rings has had in profiling New Zealand on the world stage. As well as being amazing films and cinematic spectacles, they captured an essence of New Zealand's diverse and picturesque landscape, along with the genius of our innovative people.

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Kerry Prendergast, Mayor of Wellington, Tim Cossar, CEO Positively Wellington Tourism, Lorraine Day, the Team from Harper Collins Publishing, LOTR and Tourism Industry people and of course, Ian Brodie and family.

As Minister of Tourism I have had a first hand glimpse of the vital role The Lord of the Rings has had in profiling New Zealand on the world stage.

As well as being amazing films and cinematic spectacles, they captured an essence of New Zealand's diverse and picturesque landscape, along with the genius of our innovative people.

We know that international visitors are interested in the link between New Zealand and The Lord of the Rings.

Our latest visitor research is already showing that visitors are coming here because of the films, and are looking to see sites from the films during their travels.

The International Visitor Survey reported that 89% of New Zealand's visitors were aware of The Lord of the Rings films, and 7% said that it was a motivating factor for their visit to New Zealand. (That's around 150 thousand people.)

Of course, for the tourism industry the importance is not just that the films are motivating people to come here, but that once our visitors get here, they travel widely and undertake a wide range of activities.

This is why Ian Brodie's books have been so important.

The Lord of the Rings location guidebooks are a fantastic tool for New Zealand and international visitors alike. And I am particularly pleased to see how well my own area of the Central Plateau is depicted!

These guidebooks are a great way for people to discover the country, and a great encouragement for people to do more and see more in New Zealand.

I would like to commend Ian for his foresight in developing the guide, and the fantastic job he has done in pulling together the vast amount of material in such a readable and inspiring way.

I'm absolutely sure The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition will follow the success of the previous books, and that New Zealand, Home of Middle Earth, will continue to motivate and engage our future travellers.

Congratulations Ian!

I'd now like to pass on to Her Worship Kerry Prendergast. Thank you.

ENDS

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