After lengthy talks between New Zealand and Hollywood executives, it was announced today that production of The Hobbit, a prequel to the wildly popular Lord of the Rings franchise, would film in the land of the kiwis.

All previous Lord of the Rings movies were filmed in New Zealand, with the country enjoying plenty of exposure due to the film's popularity. Tourism New Zealand's General Manager of Public Affairs Suzanne Carter commented: "People are still travelling to New
Zealand today because of the exposure gained through the Lord of the
Rings trilogy and the Hobbit will provide another much-needed boost to
our billion dollar tourism industry."

Carter added: "As with the Lord of the
Rings triology, we will be looking at every opportunity to leverage the
profile of the Hobbit to promote New Zealand." Filming of the two-part prequel is set for this February.