Land of Milk and Honey

The NZ economy is currently on a high, with the lowest unemployment rates since 1987, 26,000 new jobs created in the last 3 months, and a $1.2 billion surplus in the first 3 months of the year – $730 million more than predicted in the 2003 budget. An LA Times feature on the “Frodo economy” cites the LotR trilogy as a primary factor behind the remarkable financial boost: “Much of the payoff was tied directly to the estimated $500 million that was spent to make the three movies … For a time, the production engaged 23,000 workers, making it the largest private employer in NZ. Then came the tourists, and scores of new restaurants and bed and breakfasts to cater to them. From the majestic fields of Twizel in the heart of the South Island, the site of the ‘Pelennor Fields,’ to the artisan colony of Nelson on the coast of Tasman Bay, where the trilogy’s pivotal One Ring was forged, nearly every small town and cozy hamlet has benefited.”