Unit 2: Hobbiton Flashcards
Number of coffee cups Hobbiton produces each year.
How do they manage this?
80 000 coffee cups
They are compostable.
They compost the cups on site.
How many native seedlings did they plant?
3 000 seeds
Explain how they aim to improve the ecosystem?
Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) provided a water quality assessment of the lake in 2018 and following this report a series of strategies have been introduced to improve and maintain waterway health.
The primary focus of revegetation efforts have been along the riparian (river bank) margins to aid in improving water quality, bank stability and sediment control.
Planted a wide range of native plant species. The species were selected to provide important habitat for native fauna, as well as supplying targeted feeders to support our native bird species. Also selected plants that attract populations of bees and butterflies who play an essential role in supporting the ecosystem through pollination.
Finally they have a trapping program to monitor and manage pest species.
Explain how they manage waste
Three strategies
1) Where possible they replaced food packaging with compostable alternatives (2017). Example is the coffee cup.
They composite onsite. They also compost food and green waste.
Composted material is then used on the Hobbiton gardens.
2) All non-compostable food packaging are carefully-sourced plant-based alternatives made of materials such as bamboo fibre, paper, and Bioplastic made from Polylactic Acid (PLA). This material has a carbon footprint of up to 75% less than traditional packaging materials.
3) On-site waste sorting facility.
Hand sort and separate all compostable, recyclable and general waste items.
In 12 months reduced landfill waste by over 50 tonnes.
Evidence that Hobbiton was in the Consolidation phase in 2019.
In 2018, the Green Dragon Inn was built. Development has slowed but they are still growing the business.
By 2018, they have 50 permanent staff and 180 in the peak summer season.
By 2019, they have 280 staff.
Maximum of 6000 visitors per day and 60 tours.
In 2019, the local government approved their petition to increase the allowed tourist numbers from 300,000 to 650,000 annually.
In 2019, they built Millhouse.
When did Hobbiton enter the Development stage of Butler’s Model?
What happened during this stage?
In 2011 they built a permanent film set for the Hobbit trilogy so that it could be used as a long term (50 years) tourism venture. This venture was run by the Alexander family in partnership with Sir Peter Jackson.
Russell concentrated full time on the development to of Hobbiton leaving the running of the family farm to his father and brother.
They moved from 1 permanent staff member to 10 in the first year.
How did CoVid impact Hobbiton?
Due to the global COVID 19 pandemic, in 2020 Hobbiton went into Decline.
In 2020, staff dropped to 26
80% of the target market disappeared.
International tourism disappeared, now reliant on the domestic market.
Maximum of 200 visitors per day and 5 tours.
70,000 visitors annually
How important is Hobbiton to the Waikato Region (before Covid)?
Leisure and business tourism contributes $1.56 billion into the regional economy annually, just fifth behind Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown.
Domestic visitors are Waikato’s biggest tourism spenders, contributing $1.196 billion into the regional economy, with international visitors bringing in $362 million.
Regional tourism estimates for June 2019 show retail spend was $44 million, food and beverage spend was $18 million, public transport $6 million and stay in quality commercial accommodation $6 million.
Hobbiton Movie Set is one of three ‘hero’ attractions alongside Waitomo Caves and Hamilton Gardens.
Busiest trading days during the Christmas and New Year period, with other busy periods between November to March.
Hobbiton has signed up to the ‘Tourism Sustainability Commitment’. What have they committed to:
1) Having a sustainability plan with goals
2) Making measurable progress towards those goals
3) Embedding sustainability into the business plan
4) Providing an annual update on progress
5) Telling communities and visitors about our sustainability efforts.
Compare NZ population and their annual tourism numbers (pre CoVid)
Tourism no: 3.7 million (2018)
population: 4.9 million (2018)
Compare importance of tourism to Australia and New Zealand
In 2017
Australia: Second important industry behind iron ore and before coal
NZ: Primary industry followed by Dairy
Importance of Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies on NZ tourism
A 2012 Forbes study found:
1% of NZ tourists cited that the movies were the reason they came to NZ. This brought $33 million.
50% increase of tourism overall since the release of the Hobbit
80% of visitors were aware of the movies and that they were filmed in NZ.
