Hobbiton Movie Set (Photo credit: Shaun Jeffers Photography)
Situated in the heart of the North Island the diverse Hamilton & Waikato region encompasses New Zealand’s fourth largest city, the country’s longest river, Hobbiton Movie Set, and the world famous Waitomo Caves with its glowworms and adventure tourism activities. Well-known for its nature-based tourism, underground adventure and off-the-beaten track experiences the Hamilton & Waikato region offers something for every traveller, from the stunning black sand surf beaches of Raglan to Hamilton’s vibrant café scene and the rolling hills and majestic forests that shape the landscape. (Source: Hamilton & Waikato Tourism)
Thanks to The Hobbit movies and the Hobbiton Movie Set, that brings in New Zealand visitors from around the world on daily basis, the tourism in Waikato region is receiving a considerable boost, after five tough years. “We’ve been battling GFCs [Global Financial Crises], natural disasters, a high New Zealand dollar. So we’ve had to work really hard.” said chief executive Kiri Goulter.
The regional tourism organisation, Hamilton & Waikato Tourism, gave its end of year report this week and the numbers are remarcable.
“Nationally, international arrivals were up six per cent to 2.79 million in the June 2014 year. That flowed through to a five per cent increase in international visitor guest nights in the Waikato, while the domestic market held steady against the national average.
Interest in holding business events in the Waikato remained strong, hitting a target of 11 per cent share of national delegate days.
All up 41 business events were secured, worth $3.4m.
Hamilton & Waikato Tourism also secured $419,000 in industry contributions, and In-kind contributions worth $103,000, exceeding it’s $320,000 target for the year to June.”
Goulter also stated: “The third [Hobbit] movie’s released in December, and tourism NZ’s campaign for the last three years has been 100 % Middle Earth, and they’re going to give that another large push. […] We’re feeling very optimistic about 2014/2015.”
You can read the full article at Waikato Times.
