Sun, Jun 01, 2003 page12

• Tourists look for their own private Middle Earth in Kiwi land

  Depictions of the land of elves, orcs and hobbits in the `Lord of the Rings' have cast a spell on travelers as Wellington seeks to add some tinsel to its money cauldron

  • By William Pesek Jr. / BLOOMBERG
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  Kyoko Anzai leafs through a New Zealand tour book, anxious to start her Lord of the Rings experience.

  The 27-year-old Tokyo hairdresser has seen the movies, and read the J.R.R. Tolkien books. Now, she's come to see the country where the tales were brought to life for the big screen.

  "When I watched the films, I was amazed at how beautiful New Zealand was," Anzai explains in Christchurch. "I just had to see it." Anzai is hardly alone, and government officials are all too happy to oblige. The big screen could be a bigger source of economic stimulus for New Zealand than investors may appreciate, paying off in continued growth and rising stocks.

  Other film projects are drawing additional attention -- and possibly capital -- to this remote nation of 3.8 million. Take Whale Rider, a tale of a Maori girl struggling with the pressures of her culture in a changing world. A hit in Australia, a word-of-mouth dynamic promises healthy box office returns in the US, Europe, Japan and other big overseas markets.

  Tom Cruise just wrapped up filming of The Last Samurai here. And later in the year, Peter Jackson, director of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, will film King Kong here for Universal Studios. Not only are such projects pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into New Zealand's economy and creating jobs, but they may also ignite a new word-of-mouth campaign that further increases tourism and investment.

  The Lord of the Rings movies have added more fuel to an already vibrant economy. New Zealand is expected grow at least 2 percent this year, which is quite robust compared with the world's biggest economies. The government is about to enjoy its 10th consecutive budget surplus.

  Taking advantage

  That's likely to continue, in part, because the films are acting like huge magnets, sucking attention and, more importantly, money, this way. Such events are "redefining New Zealand as smart and innovative," says Prime Minister Helen Clark. "We need that to work in our favor consistently across our range of exports." The government is stepping up efforts to use films as tools of economic stimulus. Tourism Minister Mark Burton, for example, recently unveiled a US$15 million campaign to do just that so as not to squander the "extraordinary publicity" from the films among US audiences.

  Investors could benefit from all this. The trend could boost economic growth. In larger economies like Japan, tourism rarely has big sway over gross domestic product. A small one like New Zealand could be strongly affected by the increased spending by tourists and any related investment that flows in.

  Air New Zealand has gotten in on the act, painting Lord of the Rings scenes and characters on its planes. Industries like New Zealand's winemakers hope increased attention will help them sell more goods overseas. Wellington also is investing in becoming a movie-making center. Hence its new nickname, Wellywood.

  Asian sensation

  Movies have been a plus for other Asian economies, too. A couple of years ago, Thailand got a boost from the release of Leonardo DiCaprio's film The Beach, which was filmed near the Phi-Phi islands. Ditto for Cambodia, where the film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider was filmed with Angelina Jolie and John Voight.

  Movie fans flocked to the temples at Angkor, which appeared in the film.

  Vietnam is another example of how Hollywood can boost far-off economies. It's still eating out on The Quiet American, the Michael Caine movie filmed in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi which inspired a new generation of Americans to visit.

  Still, New Zealand is upping the bar for celluloid-related economic growth in the Asia region. Investors might want to pay attention to the trend.
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