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The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) head of public relations and corporate communications Mr Sugar Chagonda said:
“This seal of approval was granted by the German top entertainment television station, Redseven, who recently visited the country on a scouting mission. The reality documentary will be recorded from 9 to 24 June.”
He said Zimbabwe was endorsed for the documentary after rigorous and strict selection criteria that took into account the uniqueness of the tourist offering, community tourism, availability of natural tourist options and culture among other things.
“The reality documentary titled Million Dollar Model will be aired on Redseven TV starting from September, and has over five million viewership base in Austria, German and Switzerland.”
The Million Dollar Model documentary will apart from Zimbabwe, also include top destinations such as the Iceland and Israel.
The selection of Zimbabwe ahead of other destinations further confirms the increasing popularity of the country’s tourism worldwide.
Commenting on the development, ZTA chief executive Karikoga Kaseke said the project by the Germans would put the country in the spotlight and further market the destination particularly the Victoria Falls as a rare spectacle.
“We are excited about this project poised to portray the attractiveness of this destination and given the latest thumps up by Germans themselves, 2012 is projected to witness a nine percent increase in arrivals from this top spending primary source market,” he said.
It is also hoped that the production of the reality documentary would further complement efforts by the ZTA in marketing and promoting the destination in Europe.
Last year, Europe contributed about six percent of the overall tourism arrivals to Zimbabwe with German coming second after the United Kingdom. Germany arrivals to Zimbabwe increased by 44 percent in 2011 to 24 300 from 16 910 the previous year.
The reality documentary primes the country for more tourists and shows Zimbabwe’s preparedness to host the forthcoming 20th session of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) general assembly in August next year.
Already, Zimbabwe has successfully hosted the 37th edition of the Africa Travel Association (ATA) conference in Victoria Falls last month.
Online Reporter