Northern Survivor?

MIRIAM HILL

PANGNIRTNUG — Survivor in the North? Well, there may be a problem getting enough skin on camera.

On a recent visit to Pangnirtung, the president of the Canadian Tourism Commission, a government agency that markets Canada as a tourism destination, said he’s working to get producers of the hit reality-based TV show Survivor to choose Canada as a shooting site.

Jim Watson sent a package to Mark Burnett, the producer of the CBS show, a couple of months ago to pitch the idea. Dressed in a survival suit for a boat trip to a nearby territorial park, Watson said the North might be an excellent spot to drop off contestants and film them as they “vote off” members each week.

“I think it’s as realistic or as good as any other part of the country, simply because they’re looking for an area that is rugged and pristine and not commercial. Obviously the North fits the bill,” Watson said. “It would obviously be a great feather in our cap to get the show, because it really becomes a travelogue for your country.”

The show, which has already visited the tropical island of Pulau Tiga, the Australian outback, and is currently shooting in Africa, features contestants competing for “immunity” from being voted off each week.

In previous episodes, since temperatures were hot, contestants tended to wear little clothing, which boosted the entertainment careers of many of them.

Watson said he sent a two-page letter to Burnett a couple of months ago, along with a Roots leather bag filled with Canadian goodies to convince him to consider shooting the fourth season of Survivor in Canada.

“There was a bottle of ice wine from the Niagara area, there was maple syrup, blueberry preserves, about 20-30 glossy photos of scenes from across the country – every territory and province was represented,” he said. There was also a four-minute video showing Canadian scenes.

Canada was the first country to actually put forward a bid to Burnett, and Watson said since then he’s heard that about 15 other nations followed his lead.

He said he hopes to receive an answer from the show in the next two months.

“Thirty-one million Americans watched the last episode and the U.S. is our primary foreign market, obviously, because 75-80 per cent of our foreign visitors come from the U.S.,” he said.

“It’s an opportunity for us to promote Canada as an adventure tourism destination, and even if we haven’t succeeded, we’ve managed to get a fair amount of press coverage on our bid.”

The pitch was reported in several countries in Europe, including Italy and the U.K., and by National Public Radio in the U.S.

“So you see it’s already served the purpose,” Watson said.