Lord of the Rings
'clean sweep' benefits Wellington Tourism
Press release from Positively Wellington Tourism -- 5/3/2004

Wellington's tourism industry took a giant leap forward last night with The Return of the King's 'clean sweep' at the Oscars.

Positively Wellington Tourism Chief Executive Tim Cossar said the huge international profile that winning 11 Oscars would bring to The Lord of the Rings would have a massive effect on both New Zealand and Wellington tourism.

"This coverage is absolutely priceless. Last night, Wellington and New Zealand took centre stage - alongside Peter Jackson and the Trilogy - at the biggest international television event of the year.

"The Trilogy and its subsequent success is one of the biggest things ever to happen to Wellington's tourism industry."

Wellington, which hosted the World Premiere of this record-breaking film in December, was already enjoying increased international profile as a result. A recent meeting with key Australian conference organisers illustrated the huge image boost Wellington has received, Tim said.

"Before the World Premiere, many of the conference organisers said they knew almost nothing about Wellington and wouldn't have considered it as a conference or travel destination. When we spoke to them in February, they were transfixed with the city and wanted to find out more. And that was before last night."

Mark Rogers, Director of Wellington tour company Flat Earth Tours said visitor interest in Lord of the Rings had exceeded his expectations.

"It's been absolutely amazing for us. We're finding that Lord of the Rings has been the catalyst for many visitors to come to Wellington. The interest has been much higher than we expected and we've got good signs of it continuing for at least the next year."