The Hobbit and tourism

Elle Hunt at Stuff reports:

Travel websites have reported significant growth in searches and bookings for New Zealand this month, after the worldwide release of The Hobbit.

The flight search website Sky scanner.com recorded a 102 per cent increase in worldwide searches for flights to New Zealand this month compared with December 2011, including a 117 per cent spike in searches for flights to Wellington.

The foreign currency exchange group Travelex has reported a 26 per cent increase in pre-orders for New Zealand dollars compared with December 2011.

Air New Zealand bookings from the United States were reported to have nearly doubled on the day before the November 28 world premiere in Wellington, and increased by a third in Japan after a Hobbit promotion there.

Excellent. Let me tell you that travel industry people in Queenstown still rage about how certain groups and individuals tried to sabotage The Hobbit. And no I don’t bring the issue up.

And The Hobbit continues to dominate at the box office. Total revenue to date has been US$686 million. It currently makes up 38% of all box office revenue in the United States.