I’ve interviewed travel industry people in all sorts of locations, from skyscrapers to beach bars. But my recent meeting with Tourism New Zealand chief executive Kevin Bowler was a new one for me.

We sat down to chat in a hobbit hole - an actual part of The Hobbit trilogy film set, which had been transported around the world by Air New Zealand, and painstakingly recreated in London’s Claridges Hotel.

Bowler (pictured above with director Peter Jackson) told me the 13 years since the first The Lord of the Rings film had been a “remarkable journey” for the tourist board. The third in The Hobbit trilogy, The Battle of the Five Armies, was released in the UK on Friday. It was the last of J. R. R. Tolkien’s novels to receive the Hollywood treatment - and be filmed entirely on location in New Zealand.

With a burgeoning set tourism industry linking into the films, Bowler was confident the momentum would continue, with one in five international visitors to New Zealand choosing an attraction or tour relating to the films.

“New Zealand is a classic bucket list destination, and watching the films pushes it to the top”

Kevin Bowler, Tourism New Zealand

Hobbiton Movie Set Tours, with its hobbit holes, gardens and bridges, has already received more than 800,000 visitors. “Now that Hobbiton is established as a permanent attraction, it will help keep our association with the films alive and it will continue as a must-see experience,” Bowler told me.

There are hundreds more ways for Hobbit fans to feed their addiction. Weta Workshop in Wellington, which devised special effects for the films, offers behind-the-scenes tours and “learn the trade” workshops where fans can make their own chainmaille and jewellery designed for the cast.

A heli flight over the Southern Alps and Lake Pukaki, which appears in The Battle of the Five Armies, delivers panoramic views of the quintessential New Zealand scenery that makes the films such visual feasts.

In the past 12 months, overall international arrivals have risen 5-6%, with visitor spend up 10%. Bowler has no doubt the films are driving those numbers: “New Zealand is a classic bucket list destination, and watching the films pushes it to the top.”

Seventy-five competition winners, hardcore Hobbit fans, recently spent a week in New Zealand, participating in exclusive experiences. “One fan spontaneously cried every day from overexcitement - at being in Middle Earth, going to Hobbiton and meeting Peter Jackson in Wellington,” said Bowler. “The international media followed the fans around - and that’s priceless promotion. It’s very genuine.”