Planning and development in film tourism: insights into the experience of Lord of the Rings film guides

This paper is part of a larger study into the expectations and experiences of guided Lord of the Rings film tourists during their visits to more than 80 locations/settings that were featured in the films, and here discusses the demands towards and developments of the supply side of the thriving Lord of the Rings film tourism industry in Aotearoa, New Zealand. The challenges of guiding film tourists through their confrontation of anticipated fantastical landscape and geographical reality is discussed, leading to the identification of a typical film tour guide performance and its commonly used sign makers. This includes screen shots from selected film scenes as well as further printed materials and individual story telling depending on the guide’s familiarity with the film and its making. Furthermore, the significance of emotions and especially emotional bonding with the guide(s) is identified as a considerable influence on the overall tour satisfaction. And while film tourists are varied, the experience of closeness and sincerity in the relationship with the guide seems often more important than “finding the exact spot”