Just as The Lord of the Rings franchise gave a major fillip to New Zealand's tourism, the HBO hit Game of Thrones (predominantly) had a similar effect on what part of the world?
"fictional languages have been heard by more people than the Welsh, Irish, and Scots Gaelic languages combined. ""Game of Thrones"" is funded by Northern Ireland Screen, a UK government agency financed by Invest NI and the European Regional Development Fund. , Northern Ireland Screen gave the series £9.25 million ($14.37 million); according to government estimates, this has benefited the Northern Ireland economy by £65 million ($100.95 million). Tourism Ireland has a ""Game of Thrones""-themed marketing campaign similar to New Zealand's Tolkien-related advertising. Invest NI and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board also expect the series to generate tourism revenue. According to"
"Tolkien tourism Tolkien tourism is a phenomenon of fans of ""The Lord of the Rings"" fictional universe travelling to sites of film- and book-related significance. It is especially notable in New Zealand, site of the movie trilogy by Peter Jackson, where it is credited as having raised the annual tourism numbers. The three films ("""", """", and """") based on the novel ""The Lord of the Rings"" by J. R. R. Tolkien were shot in various locations throughout New Zealand, and many of these locations have been preserved and altered to encourage the tourism that makes up a significant portion"
"Zealand grew 40%, from 1.7 million in 2000 to 2.4 million in 2006, which some have attributed to be to a large degree due to ""The Lord of the Rings"" phenomenon. 6% of international visitors cited the film as a reason for traveling to the country. ""You can argue that ""Lord of the Rings"" was the best unpaid advertisement that New Zealand has ever had"", said Bruce Lahood, United States and Canadian regional manager for Tourism New Zealand. An article published by The New York Times contradicts Lahood, stating that New Zealand subsidized the movie trilogy with $150 million. Many"
"benefit) that New Zealand had to pay to retain the movie 'extortionate' and argued that the discussion had occurred in a climate of 'hyperbole and hysteria'. An even higher price of at least $109 million has also been cited. Tolkien tourism has also existed to a lesser extent independent from the Jackson movies. Most notable are the following destinations: Tolkien tourism Tolkien tourism is a phenomenon of fans of ""The Lord of the Rings"" fictional universe travelling to sites of film- and book-related significance. It is especially notable in New Zealand, site of the movie trilogy by Peter Jackson, where"
"of the country’s economy. Tourists sometimes travel dressed as characters from the books or films, indulging in what is known throughout fandom as cosplay. Avid fans traveling to both well-known and obscure locations related to ""The Lord of the Rings"" are referred to as ""Tolkien tourists"". New Zealand is in a unique position to capitalize on its scenery. Tolkien tourist attention is less geared towards visiting New Zealand's national parks and more focused on scenery that was used as back drops in movies. For example, Mount Olympus, dramatic pillars of rock carved out by nature and time, sits in Kahurangi"
"""Game of Thrones"". In 2012, bookings through LateRooms.com increased by 28 percent in Dubrovnik and 13 percent in Iceland. The following year, bookings doubled in Ouarzazate, Morocco (the location of Daenerys' season-three scenes). ""Game of Thrones"" has been attributed as a significant factor in the boom of tourism in Iceland that had a strong impact on its economy. Tourist numbers increased by 30% in 2015, followed by another 40% in 2016, with a final figure of 2.4 million visitors expected for 2016, which is around seven times the population of the country. However, the increase in tourism to Dubrovnik, with"
"New Zealand, Home of Middle Earth,"" urges Tourism New Zealand's Web site, and once tourists get there, they are invited to find film locations around New Zealand with a free ""Middle Earth map."" Currently New Zealand is negotiating with Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema, the films' producers, to construct a permanent Lord of the Rings museum for some of the 40,000 props and costumes now warehoused in New Zealand. Jan Howard Finder, the science fiction writer, has organized special hostel-based tours of New Zealand to see places filmed in ""Lord of the Rings"". The annual tourist influx to New"
"of the Rings Symphony"", playing two hours of the score. Along with the ""Harry Potter"" films, the series has renewed interest in the fantasy film genre. Tourism for New Zealand is up, possibly due to its exposure in the series, with the country's tourism industry waking up to an audience's familiarity. In December 2002, opened at the Te Papa museum in Wellington, New Zealand. As of 2007, the exhibition has traveled to seven other cities around the world. A musical adaptation of the book was launched in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 2006, but it closed after mostly poor reviews. A"
"and set his novel ""Erewhon"" in the country. Karl Wolfskehl prepared works of German literature during a sojourn in Auckland. New Zealand's lively community of playwrights, supported by Playmarket, include Roger Hall. The New Zealand film industry is small but successful, boasting directors such as Peter Jackson and Jane Campion. The cinema of New Zealand includes many films made in New Zealand, made about New Zealand or made by New Zealand-based production companies. Peter Jackson's ""The Lord of the Rings"" film trilogy was produced and filmed in New Zealand, and animation and photography for James Cameron's ""Avatar"" was primarily done"
"and compact size, plus government incentives, have encouraged some producers to shoot big-budget productions in New Zealand, including ""Avatar"", ""The Lord of the Rings"", ""The Hobbit"", ""The Chronicles of Narnia"", ""King Kong"" and ""The Last Samurai"". The New Zealand media industry is dominated by a small number of companies, most of which are foreign-owned, although the state retains ownership of some television and radio stations. Since 1994, Freedom House has consistently ranked New Zealand's press freedom in the top twenty, with the 19th freest media . Most of the major sporting codes played in New Zealand have British origins. Rugby"
"of Peter Jackson's ""The Lord of the Rings"" films, New Zealand has sometimes been called ""Middle-earth"" after the fictional setting of the films. Wellington, the centre of the films' production, was sometimes called Middle-earth, and for about a week around the release of the first movie the local newspaper ""The Evening Post"" renamed itself to ""The Middle Earth Post"". The town of Matamata, near the location of many of the Hobbiton scenes, unofficially renamed itself ""Hobbiton"". The flourishing of the film-industry in Wellington has led to the nickname ""Wellywood"", and a proposal to erect a ""Hollywood"" style sign near the"
"(1989). He was eventually noticed by Hollywood, and in the 2000s directed ""The Lord of the Rings"" series. Although made with mainly foreign funding (helped by a tax break from the New Zealand government) and featuring a primarily international cast, Jackson filmed the movies in New Zealand, using a largely Kiwi production crew, helping create an enormous skill base in the New Zealand film industry. This has led to a number of prominent Hollywood films being made in New Zealand, with major international productions not only filming there but also using the country's various post-production facilities and special effects companies."
"Peak, Mount Iron, Mount Grand and the Pisa Range, all of which provide views of the surrounding area. The Wanaka region has been the setting for many international films, including The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, the Legend of S, and A Wrinkle in Time. Wanaka is host to outdoor recreation and tourism activities with hiking, mountain biking, mountaineering, rock climbing, fishing, paragliding, kayaking, rafting, jetboating, and environmental activities. Wanaka has a sunny climate and serves as an access point to the highest New Zealand mountain outside of the Mount Cook region: Mount Aspiring/Tititea. Mount Aspiring National Park is"
"in with an international Tourism Australia plan. Concerned about the recession and fluctuating international fuel prices, the tourism industry hoped that Luhrmann's film would deliver visitors from all over the world in the same kind of numbers that came to the country following the 1986 release of ""Crocodile Dundee"", and follow the significant increase in visitors to New Zealand since 2001 after the release of ""The Lord of the Rings"" films. Federal Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson said, ""This movie will potentially be seen by tens of millions of people, and it will bring life to little-known aspects of Australia's extraordinary"
"Royal Botanic Garden, etc.), Gold Coast (theme parks such as Warner Bros. Movie World, Dreamworld and Sea World), Walls of Jerusalem National Park and Mount Field National Park in Tasmania, Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne, the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, The Twelve Apostles in Victoria, Uluru (Ayers Rock) and the Australian outback. Tourism in New Zealand contributes NZ$7.3 billion (or 4%) of the country's GDP in 2013, as well as directly supporting 110,800 full-time equivalent jobs (nearly 6% of New Zealand's workforce). International tourist spending accounted for 16% of New Zealand's export earnings (nearly NZ$10 billion). International and domestic"
"books and collectibles like box-sets, merchandise, and other items. The TV series also contributed in increasing the geographic coverage of the books, introducing new customers in emerging countries like India and Brazil to the book series. All this has significantly increased the overall book sales. During the 1980s and early 1990s, Martin's novels had slowly earned him a reputation in science fiction circles, although he said to only have received a few fans' letters a year in the pre-internet days. The publication of ""A Game of Thrones"" caused Martin's following to grow, with fan sites springing up and a Trekkie-like"
"Arlene Foster, the series has given Northern Ireland the most non-political publicity in its history. The production of ""Game of Thrones"" and other TV series also boosted Northern Ireland's creative industries, contributing to an estimated 12.4-percent growth in arts, entertainment and recreation jobs between 2008 and 2013 (compared with 4.3 percent in the rest of the UK during the same period). In September 2018, after the filming had finished, HBO announced plans to convert its filming locations in Northern Ireland into tourist attractions to be opened in 2019. Tourism organizations elsewhere reported increases in bookings after their locations appeared in"
"most Facebook Likes found that ""Game of Thrones"" was ""much more popular in cities than in the countryside, probably the only show involving zombies that is"". By season seven, average viewer numbers had increased to over 30 million per episode across all platforms. The series set records on pay-television channels in the United Kingdom (with a 2016 average audience of more than five million on all platforms) and Australia (with a cumulative average audience of 1.2 million). <section begin=ratings /><section end=ratings /> The series has inspired several video games based on the TV series and novels. The strategy game ""Game"
"studio, sometimes on the other side of the world. In these instances, location shooting can provide significant economic development benefits to the area in which they are shot. Cast and crew heavily rely upon local facilities such as catering, transportation, and accommodations. A film that becomes a blockbuster hit can introduce movie audiences around the world to a visually breathtaking location that they were previously unaware of, as the ""Lord of the Rings"" trilogy did for New Zealand. This can boost tourism for years or even decades. Location shooting usually requires a location manager, and locations are usually chosen by"
"a recent but ongoing pattern of producers' missions between Canada, New Zealand and Australia. ""Whale Rider"" won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2002 and nine out of the ten top-grossing centres in North America for New Zealand's ""Lord of the Rings"" were in Canada. One of New Zealand's leading television channels TV3 was, until 2007, owned by Canadian Media Conglomerate CanWest. New Zealand and Canada are both exclusive members of a collection of five countries who participate in the highly secretive ECHELON program. New Zealand has two (known) listening posts run by the Government"
"""Game of Thrones"" estimated to be responsible for half of its annual increase over many years, had led to concerns on ""over-tourism"" and its mayor to impose limits on tourist number in the city. ""Game of Thrones"" is broadcast by HBO in the United States and by its local subsidiaries or other pay television services in other countries, at the same time as in the U.S. or weeks (or months) later. The series' broadcast in China on CCTV, begun in 2014, was heavily edited to remove scenes of sex and violence in accordance with a Chinese practice of censoring Western"
"have also been filmed there, including the ""Lord of the Rings"" trilogy. The country is situated about southeast of Australia across the Tasman Sea, its closest neighbours to the north being New Caledonia, Tonga and Fiji. It is the southernmost nation in Oceania. The relative proximity of New Zealand north of Antarctica has made the South Island a gateway for scientific expeditions to the continent. New Zealand is located in the South Pacific Ocean at , near the centre of the water hemisphere. It is a long and narrow country, extending along its north-north-east axis with a maximum width of"
"New Zealand, are animals introduced by Europeans, such as black rats, stoats, cats, rabbits, hare, possums and red deer. The main activities are hiking and climbing in summer, and skiing and snowboarding in winter. There is also opportunity for hunting, game fishing, mountain biking, horse riding, rafting and scenic flights. Mount Tongariro and its surroundings are one of the several locations where Peter Jackson shot ""The Lord of the Rings"" film trilogy; tours to view these places are commonly arranged by the tour's operators and lodges. The most popular track in Tongariro National Park is the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Most"
"in the area and has two primary schools, shops, a post office, public houses and other community facilities. The village was dominated by public sector housing for many years, but in the late 1980s and early 1990s, new housing developments began around the village. The village is close to a number of scenic locations including the Dark Hedges, which in recent years has become a popular tourist attraction as the infamous ""King's Road"" in the HBO series Game of Thrones. A monastic settlement which was founded by Saint Patrick in the 5th Century formerly sat to the northeast of the"
"New York summer stage on the Annandale-on-Hudson campus. In 2010, he appeared in the Australian movie ""I Love You Too"" alongside Brendan Cowell and Peter Helliar. Since 2011, Dinklage has portrayed Tyrion Lannister in HBO's fantasy drama ""Game of Thrones"", an adaptation of author George R. R. Martin's ""A Song of Ice and Fire"" novels. ""Game of Thrones"" takes place on the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos and chronicles the power struggles among noble families as they fight for control of the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms. Tyrion is a member of House Lannister, one of the wealthiest"
". Many international tourists spend time in Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown, Rotorua, and Wellington. Other high-profile destinations include the Bay of Islands, the Waitomo Caves, Aoraki / Mount Cook, and Milford Sound. Many tourists travel considerable distances through the country during their stays, typically using coach lines or hired cars. Though some destinations have seasonal specialities (for winter sports, for example), New Zealand's southern-hemisphere location offers attractions for off-peak northern-hemisphere tourists chasing or avoiding certain seasons. Domestic tourism is also important, though expenditure and trip numbers have declined or stagnated in the face of fast-growing international tourism. Domestic tourist spending of"
"film has grown dramatically, with the films ""Once Were Warriors"", ""The Piano"" and ""Heavenly Creatures"" doing well both locally and internationally, and ""The Lord of the Rings"" trilogy director Peter Jackson becoming one of film's most successful directors. New Zealand's most popular comedian was the late Billy T. James. New Zealand music has been influenced by blues, jazz, country, rock and roll and hip hop, with many of these genres given a unique New Zealand interpretation. Hip-hop is popular and there are small but thriving live music, dance party and indie music scenes. Reggae is also popular within some communities,"
"was tactical - running hotels and putting together itineraries around New Zealand as well as advertising. The organisation now known as Tourism New Zealand focuses on marketing New Zealand. International tourism has grown to become New Zealand's largest earner of foreign exchange, pumping around NZD14.5 billion annually into the nation's economy. Over 3.4 million visitors arrive in the country every year. To achieve the best results Tourism New Zealand focuses marketing activity in core markets. The largest number of international visitors to New Zealand arrive from Australia, China and the USA. In October 2017 Lonely Planet named New Zealand in"
"a popular location for the production of several films, including ""The Lord of the Rings"" trilogy and """". It lies at similar latitudes to Tasmania (an island south of the Australian mainland), and parts of Patagonia in South America. On 4 September 2010, the South Island was struck by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake, which caused extensive damage, several power outages, and many reports of aftershocks. Five and a half months later, the 22 February Christchurch earthquake of 6.3 magnitude caused far more additional damage in Christchurch, resulting in 181 deaths. This quake struck at about lunchtime and was centred closer"
"the longstanding brotherhood charged with defending the realm against the ancient threats of the fierce peoples and legendary creatures that lie far north, and an impending winter that threatens the realm. ""Game of Thrones"" has attracted record viewership on HBO and has a broad, active, international fan base. It has been acclaimed by critics, particularly for its acting, complex characters, story, scope, and production values, although its frequent use of nudity and violence (including sexual violence) has been criticized. The series has received 47 Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series in 2015, 2016, and 2018, more than any other"
"with a 2% decline in day trip spending (now at $3.7 billion) offset by a 1% increase in overnight spending (currently NZ$6.2 billion). Popular tourist activities in New Zealand include sightseeing, adventure tourism, tramping (hiking) and camping. To support active travel, New Zealand has numerous walking and hiking paths (often created and maintained by the DOC), some of which, like the Milford Track, have huge international recognition. There is also a walking route the length of the country (Te Araroa Trail) and a proposed New Zealand Cycleway. Tourism in New Zealand Tourism comprises an important sector of the New Zealand"
"U.S. president Barack Obama, former British prime minister David Cameron, former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard and Dutch foreign minister Frans Timmermans, who framed European politics in quotes from Martin's novels in a 2013 speech. BBC News said in 2013 that ""the passion and the extreme devotion of fans"" had created a phenomenon unlike anything related to other popular TV series, manifesting itself in fan fiction, ""Game of Thrones""-themed burlesque routines and parents naming their children after series characters; writers quoted attributed this success to the rich detail, moral ambiguity, sexual explicitness and epic scale of the series and novels."
"that ultimately had nothing to do with conservation purposes the Department of Conservation is required to promote. The filming of parts of ""Lord of the Rings"" in Tongariro National Park caused enough disturbance to some areas of the Park, (including one known locally as 'Orc Road') that contractors had to be hired to restore the areas later. In December 2005, a contractor won an award from the Department of Conservation for their restoration work. Principal photography of The Lord of the Rings film series Principal photography for ""The Lord of the Rings"" film trilogy was conducted concurrently in New Zealand"