Jackson live-blogs final Hobbit shoot

Filming on the last movie in the Hobbit trilogy finishes in Wellington today, and Peter Jackson plans to live blog throughout the day.

Today marks the end of 14 years of making the movies based on the Tolkien books.

Post-production work on the two remaining films will continue into 2014, Radio New Zealand reported.

Jackson is marking the occasion by doing something he says he's always wanted to do: Live blogging an entire day of filming.

"Right now, it's just gone 6.30am here in Wellington. I'm in bed, about to get up! I didn't get much sleep - too stressed about how we're going to get through everything we need to shoot. I kept running it over in my mind," Jackson wrote on his Facebook page.

He has since posted updates about his superstitious shirts, his cat Mr Smudge who says goodbye to him every day, and how nervous he is arriving at the studio.

"8.20am. Not my favourite time of the day. When I drive to the studio, I usually feel nervous, and the day seems daunting. 100 people are about to look to me to find out what our first shot is, what lens I want to use, and how many set-ups it's going to take to get the scene finished. Some of the time I have a plan, and some of the time I wing it," he wrote.

Read Jackson's blog updates on his Facebook page here.

Tourism New Zealand has estimated The Hobbit trilogy could be worth $500 million coming from overseas Tolkien fans attracted to the country.

Absolutely Positively Wellington chief executive David Perks told RNZ the trilogies had put the capital on the map for film-makers and kick-started the city's now burgeoning film industry.

BY THE NUMBERS

* Research conducted by Tourism NZ in key markets in May to July last year found 57 per cent of people considering a trip to New Zealand were aware of The Hobbit trilogy.

* Of those aware of the films, 87 per cent know they were filmed in New Zealand and 58 per cent were fans of The Hobbit.

* The International Visitor Survey from 2004, after the release of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, found that 6 per cent of visitors to New Zealand named it as being one of the main reasons for visiting the country.

* 1 per cent of visitors said The Lord of the Rings was their main or only reason for visiting. This related to approximately $32.8 million in spending.

* In 2004, 63,200 visitors participated in a Lord of the Rings activity while here.

* Since 2004, an average 47,000 visitors each year have visited a film location.

* Visitors attracted by The Hobbit could be worth $500 million to the economy.