15 Jan 2003

Fiji expects tourism boost from US film venture

12:15 pm on 15 January 2003

Fiji's tourism industry is expecting a big boost from the filming of a popular US television series in the country next month.

MTV's Road Rules series is beamed to over 71 percent of the American population with an audience mainly in the 18 to 36 year old group.

The chief executive of the Fiji Audio Visual Commission, Taniela Bolea, says the shooting of the 12th series of the programme in Fiji will have a great spin-off for tourism.

A tourism entrepreneur, Tony Whitton, says with the US and Canada already making up 17 percent of Fiji's visitor numbers, the showing of the Fiji-filmed series will provide a tremendous boost to brand penetration in US households.