Tourism and Film

How New Zealand's landscapes, boosted by the Lord of the Rings films, attract tourists, and the pressures of overtourism and the pandemic border closure.

Tourism is one of New Zealand’s biggest export earners.

Attractions

Mountains, fjords like Milford Sound, adventure sports and Māori culture.

Film effect

The Lord of the Rings films (2001-2003) showcased landscapes, drawing visitors to sites like Hobbiton.

Adventure tourism

Queenstown is famous for bungy jumping, begun commercially there in 1988.

Pandemic

New Zealand closed its borders in March 2020, stopping international tourism for about two years.

Overtourism

Crowding at hotspots led to an International Visitor Levy from 2019, raised in 2024.

The film set

Tourists pay to tour Hobbiton, a set on a farm that became a tourist business.

Thinking tourism never hurts a country

Crowding brings costs, managed with levies.

Key takeaways

Tourism is a major export earner.
Lord of the Rings boosted visits.
Borders closed from March 2020.
A visitor levy addresses overtourism.