New Zealand prepares for yet another surge in tourism as production of yet another epic series begins.

Just when you thought it was safe to visit New Zealand again, after all the Orcs had been killed and the Ring returned to the fire, comes news that yet another epic series is being filmed and produced in the Land of the Long White Cloud.

Except this time, New Zealand will not be Middle Earth; it will be Narnia, the magical world created by CS Lewis in his famous series, ‘The Chronicles of Narnia'.

Production of the first book in the series, ‘The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe', began in late June.

The movie is being produced by Walt Disney Studios and will be directed by Andrew Adamson of Shrek and Shrek 2 fame.

As with the ‘Lord of The Rings' trilogy, ‘The Chronicles of Narnia' was written a long time ago – in 1949, to be exact.

And as with the ‘Lord of the Rings', it tells of a war between good and evil, pitting the magnificent lion Aslan against the forces of darkness in the magical world of Narnia.

The story goes like this: A White Witch has used her dark powers to keep Narnia in winter for 100 years, but it is foretold that four humans will be able to help Aslan break the spell. Enter the Pevensie siblings – Lucy, Susan, Edmund, and Peter – who discover the magic of Narnia by entering the enchanted world through a wardrobe.

Reading it as a child, I remember being terrified by the White Witch – and it made me wonder if all evil people were white, or all white people were evil.

Take for example this description by Lucy. "She is a perfectly terrible person. She calls herself the Queen of Narnia though she has no right to be queen at all, and all the Fauns and Dyrads and Naiads and Dwarfs and Animals – at least all the good ones – simply hate her. And she can turn people into stone and do all kinds of horrible things."

I am currently re-reading it to see if it has the same effect on me, now that I know what I know.

Anyway, when it is released in Christmas 2005, the tourism industry in New Zealand is hoping visitor numbers will fly through the roof as they did, after Peter Jackson's movie.

Tourism is now the country's top foreign exchange earner, contributing NZ$7.4 billion in earnings from overseas markets, dislodging the dairy industry from the throne.

Consider the impact the film, aided of course by additional air capacity, had on Asian arrivals to New Zealand in 2003.

According to Tourism New Zealand, across all Asian markets (excluding Japan), visitor arrivals were up 82.2 percent in 2003. Tourist spending also reached a record high of NZ$6.4 billion, an increase of 3.9 percent over 2002.

It was this sterling performance from its Asian markets that prompted Tourism New Zealand to hold its first Asia Awards to recognize its top travel agent producers and media partners.

The awards dinner, held in Kuala Lumpur, recognized agents and media from markets such as China, Taiwan, Korea, India and Thailand in different categories.

At the dinner, it was clear that agents were enthused about selling New Zealand. It is one of the few destinations that agents in Asia can still profit from – it is a long-stay holiday for most Asian markets; it offers a diverse product; and it is a relatively high yield destination.

Increased air capacity will also make it easier to sell New Zealand this year. Qantas recently launched the first non-stop flight from Mumbai to Sydney, the first direct flight between the Pacific and South Asia. Malaysia Airlines recently went daily to Auckland. Air New Zealand has just ordered more Boeing 777s which will be used primarily on the Asian routes.

All in time for when ‘The Chronicles of Narnia' hits the screens, and sets off another New Zealand craze, we hope.

Move over, Gandalf. Here comes Aslan.

Meanwhile, Malaysia's tourism industry is also hoping the most expensive film in Malaysian history will similarly do wonders for its inbound arrivals.

‘Puteri Gunung Ledang', a love story between the legendary Hang Tuah and a Javanese princess, set a new box office record when it opened in Kuala Lumpur last month, and its director Saw Teong Hin is in the running for best new director in the Venice Film Festival.

Tourism, it seems, has become the stuff of legends.

The SHY Report
A regular column on news, trends and issues in the hospitality industry by one of Asia's most respected travel editors and commentators, Yeoh Siew Hoon.

Siew Hoon, who has covered the tourism industry in Asia/Pacific for the past 20 years, runs SHY Ventures Pte Ltd. Her company's mission is "Content, Communication, Connection". She is a writer, speaker, facilitator, trainer and events producer. She is also an author, having published "Around Asia In 1 Hr: Tales of Condoms, Chillies & Curries". Her motto is ‘free to do, and be'.

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