World adventurer, travel writer and television star Charley Boorman is currently exploring British Columbia by motorcycle for a new television program that will showcase Super, Natural British Columbia to international viewers.

The "Extreme Frontiers Canada" series is a four-part, cross-Canada adventure, from St. John's to Tofino, featuring outdoor attractions, people, culture and natural environment.

The series kicked off in Newfoundland on June 9 and has followed Boorman across the country to B.C. This week and through to July 27, Boorman is travelling across the province, visiting Kamloops, Lillooet, Whistler, Victoria, Nanaimo, Duncan, Tofino and Vancouver.

Boorman's B.C. trip is filled with adventure, including heli-biking in Whistler, gliding in Pemberton, caving at Horne Lake, and bathtub racing in Nanaimo. Film segments being captured along the way include a Rocky Mountaineer train trip, the Sea to Sky Highway, and Duffey Lake Road. Boorman and crew end their trip by joining a motorcycle convoy along the winding road to Tofino.

The series will air on the U.K.'s Channel 5 in 2012 and is also expected to air in Australia, the U.S., Canada, Germany, Spain, South Africa, and on international channels like National Geographic and Discovery International. The series will be Channel 5's first "Extreme Frontiers" journey and will promote Canada and B.C. as adventure travel destinations.

The B.C. leg of Boorman's trip was made possible through a partnership between Tourism BC, the Canadian Tourism Commission, and the communities and tourism industry of B.C.

Why It Matters:

Tourism contributed over $12.7 billion to the B.C. economy in 2009 and provided nearly 129,000 direct jobs across the province.

Quick Facts:

• In the U.K. alone, the Canadian series is expected to draw about two million viewers.
• Charley Boorman is best known for his award-winning, cross-continent motorcycle adventures with actor Ewan MacGregor.
• In 2004 Boorman and MacGregor took part in "Long Way Round," a motorcycle trip from London to New York via Europe and Asia, which became an iconic television series, book and DVD. It was shown worldwide and became a bestseller.
• In 2007 the duo travelled from John O'Groats in Scotland to Cape Town, South Africa, in "Long Way Down."

Learn More:

Tourism British Columbia, as part of the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation, promotes the Super, Natural British Columbia brand to the world. For more information on Tourism BC's programs, visit http://www.gov.bc.ca/jti/.

For more information about Charley Boorman, visit http://www.charleyboorman.com/.

For more information one Extreme Frontiers, visit http://www.extremefrontiers.co.uk/.

For a photograph of Charley Boorman, visit http://flic.kr/p/a66h6R.

Media Contacts:

Carolyn Heiman
Communications Manager
Jobs, Tourism and Innovation
250 387-2799
250 888-3545

Russ Malkin
Extreme Frontiers producer
+44 7980 858 595