More than 300 million viewers will see the beauty of British Columbia and experience a little ‘Island Time’ as huge Korean and Chinese film projects hit Vancouver Island this summer.
Tourism Vancouver Island has been extremely busy working with the Canadian Tourism Commission and Tourism British Columbia on two large film projects.
A Korean crew is the first and largest crew to arrive this month. XTM is one of the most popular cable channels in Korea and the launch of their latest project is a new TV reality travel show called ‘Adrenaline’ which will highlight various businesses and locations throughout Vancouver Island.
The show focuses on four male celebrities experiencing fun and adventurous travel in Whistler and on Vancouver Island.
The Korean cast and crew of 30 will be taking in some great adventures at Horne Lake Caves by testing their mettle with caving, rappelling, and rock climbing as well as challenging their agility with water sports. This large cast and crew will also be making a stop at the Old Country Market in Coombs with the famous goats on the roof to check out the goats, great food and tourist attractions. The crew then heads south to the Chemainus murals and on to Victoria for more outdoor adventures. The new travel show will air in September and has an estimated advertising/PR value of over $1.8 million.
Vancouver Island also welcomes China’s premier TV Travel Channel and National Geographic Traveler Magazine with ‘Canada, You Can Be A Star’. The promotion is a joint venture with the Canadian Tourism Commission and Tourism British Columbia working in partnership with destination marketing organizations like Tourism Vancouver Island to showcase ‘Signature Experiences’. Over 5,058 couples uploaded images and videos through the Canadian Tourism Commission’s Keep Exploring website which generated over 200,000 visits.
The project involved narrowing the contestants to five Chinese couples who will travel across Canada.
The five couples will experience hands on classic Canadian activities showcasing many businesses and locations. The winning couple to experience Vancouver Island will try their hands at creating a master-piece sand sculpture at Parksville’s Beach Festival, learn how much fun it is to work on a farm at Little Qualicum Cheeseworks, experience the wonders in Tofino with whale watching, paddle a dug out First Nations canoe, test their balance surfing, travel to Victoria for kayaking adventures, experience the Capital city scene, learn the process behind making apple cider and see how the Seaweed Lady creates amazing organic seaweed spa products that are sold around the world. The Travel Channel in China has a viewing audience of more than 300 million people which will provide extensive exposure for Canada.
“This is a great example of how Tourism Vancouver Island works with the national and provincial destination marketing organizations and the tourism businesses within the region to grow the economic benefits derived from tourism,” says Dave Petryk, President & CEO of Tourism Vancouver Island. “The impact of unsolicited media attention has a great deal of value in influencing travellers’ decisions to choose our destination.”
The two film projects will highlight the pristine coastlines, lush emerald forests, sparkling wave-swept beaches, stunning properties, delicious culinary fare and friendly people. The advertising/PR value of these projects is in excess of $20 million.
Vancouver Island continues to be recognized as a premier vacation destination. In 2012, Travel + Leisure magazine readers voted Vancouver Island as the Number One Island in the Continental US and Canada, and has been among the top three islands since 2001.
In 2011 Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice awarded Vancouver Island as #1 Island in Canada. From 2000-2008, Vancouver Island was rated as the Best Island in North America by the readers of Condé Nast Traveler and continues to be ranked among the top three.
This prestigious travel magazine with a per issue readership of more than two million has been conducting a Readers’ Choice award program since 1988.
Tourism Vancouver Island is one of six regional destination management organizations in British Columbia that represent Tourism British Columbia through the delivery of co-operative marketing and community development programs.
To access information about Tourism Vancouver Island and marketing initiatives, visit www.tourismvi.ca
For general travel information on Vancouver Island, Victoria and the Gulf Islands, visit www.hellobc.com/vi or www.SeeVancouverIsland.com