British Columbia will be featured as an attractive tourist destination by two high-profile television shows over the next week.

The positive media stories begin on Saturday, Nov. 17 on ABC's "Born To Explore" travel show, which airs across the U.S. The Tourism Division, as part of the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training, worked with ABC to facilitate filming of two shows featuring the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast and Northern B.C.

This week, ABC's show will highlight eco-tourism viewing in Bella Coola. "Born To Explore" averages over 1.3 million viewers each week and is heavily promoted on the network's flagship show "Good Morning America". A one-hour version of the show will also air on National Geographic channels around the world. A subsequent second hour-long episode, featuring the islands and culture of Haida Gwaii, will air in the coming months.

On Monday, Nov. 19, ET Canada will return to Vancouver for daily broadcasts throughout the week. Host Cheryl Hickey will be based in Vancouver filming at a different location each day. Co-host Rick Campanelli will also travel to Victoria, Squamish and Whistler. The show airs on Global BC at 7:30 pm and then repeats on Slice. ET Canada has a daily audience of 500,000 viewers.

The B.C. government's Travel Media team, a division within the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training, brings members of the national and international media to the province to promote B.C.'s tourism industry. The Travel Media team works directly with city and regional tourism organizations, the Canadian Tourism Commission, as well as tourism operators around the province to generate awareness of B.C.'s travel destinations through media exposure.

Quote:

Pat Bell, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour - 

"In a competitive global tourism market, this kind of positive attention from major media outlets is enormously helpful in reaching our government's goal of increasing tourism revenue to $18 billion by 2016. In British Columbia, we're fortunate that tourism revenue has continued to grow since the Olympics. I'm confident that these shows will help us attract even more new tourists to our beautiful province."

Learn More:

See what "Born To Explore" presenter Richard Wiese had to say about his experiences in B.C. for the Huffington Post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-wiese/born-to-explore-a-message_b_1966392.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-wiese/grizzly-bear-explore_b_2012019.html

Contact:

Media Relations
Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Responsible for Labour
250 356-8177