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Figures released this month by government agency Tourism New Zealand show that international vacations to New Zealand rose 10% from January through April when compared to the same period last year.
The agency said a survey indicated that 8.5% of visitors cited The Hobbit as one reason for coming and that 13% took part in some kind of hobbit-themed tourism like visiting a film set.
Mixed reviews
Warner Bros announced on Monday it will release the first teaser-trailer of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug at 13:00 EDT (19:00 SA time) on Tuesday. The second film will premiere on 13 December in Los Angeles.
The trilogy is directed by New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson and shot in his home country.
The opener The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, was released December 2012. It received mixed reviews but proved extraordinarily popular with audiences, earning a little over $1 billion at the box office.
In an e-mail, Jackson's spokesperson Matt Dravitzki said fans can expect "a surprise or two" in this week's trailer, "but I can't say anything more than that!"
A little over 500 000 tourists visited New Zealand for vacations in the first four months of the year. About the same number again visited for other reasons, such as for work or to visit relatives.
A chilling new poster for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has also been released.
The new teaser trailer for #TheHobbit: The Desolation of Smaug will be unveiled this Tuesday, June 11th, at 10am PST! twitter.com/TheHobbitMovie…
— The Hobbit (@TheHobbitMovie) June 9, 2013
