» Home » National Geographic Shows the World the Best Images of Colombia

NatGeo Spain’s “La experiencia de tu vida” (“Experience of a Lifetime”) to Air in April
Comisión Fílmica Colombiana
03.2010



3,200 people signed up to participate in this contest organized by Proexport Colombia, NatGeo and FOX.


After NatGeo Latin America broadcast the promotional phrase “National Geographic shows the world the best images of Colombia,” in February, the one-hour docu-reality show “La experiencia de tu vida” will hit the air in April, hoping to position the country as a world-class tourist destination. The program is an initiative of Proexport’s (Colombian export promotions office) Vice President’s Office on Tourism and was produced by Fox Telecolombia. The show follows the adventures of 6 couples from Brazil, Ecuador, Spain, the US, Peru and Venezuela, who travel for 10 days through 4 of the country’s regions to reveal Colombia’s major attractions. They were selected after participating in a contest in September of last year.

From Oct. 1-10, 2009, the 12 participants (6 chosen through the contest and the other 6 famed bloggers from each of the aforementioned countries) traveled from Bogotá to the coffee growing region, then on to Cartagena, Barranquilla and Santa Marta. They were given private showings at the Gold Museum in Bogotá, learned everything you need to know about Carnival in Barranquilla, picked coffee with Juan Valdez, enjoyed Colombian cooking by Chef Leonor Espinosa, and spent the night at Tayrona National Park in Santa Marta. Their mission was to write and publish in blogs and on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks their impressions of the places they visited while the cameras documented their exploits.

“You’d never imagine all the incredible things in this country. No doubt about it, if you come here you’re bound to fall in love with the place: The landscapes, the food, and most of all, the people, make Colombia a very special place.” said Spanish participant Pedro Jareño. Contestant’s had to make a creative video of themselves answering questions like “Who are you?”, “What would you consider the experience of a lifetime?”, “What makes you want to visit Colombia?” and “Why should we choose you to come to Colombia?”; the video was then uploaded to the Internet and the link was pasted into the entry form to be sent in before September 24th. The response from participating countries was massive: 295 entries from the US; 286 from Spain, 700 from Brazil; 933 from Venezuela; 807 from Peru and 179 from Ecuador. The 6 winners including Pedro Jareño were Hada Luz Andrade from Brazil, Luisa Cuesta from Ecuador, Narciso Cuellar from the US, Liliana Álvarez from Venezuela and Fernando Alayo from Peru.

“This contest is part of our strategy to promote Colombia and is, undoubtedly, the most ambitious of its kind in the nation’s history. We’re convinced that it will attract foreigners to our country who will fall in love with it and keep Colombia in mind for future vacations,” said Nubia Stella Martínez, Proexport’s Vice President of Tourism, during shooting of the program.

The contest was advertised in the on-line versions of the Washington Times, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, the Atlanta Journal, the Miami Herald, Ecuador’s El Comercio newspaper, Venezuela’s El Universal; Estadao, Abril and O globo in Brazil; and El País and El Mundo in Spain. US residents have been able to watch 2-minute teasers inviting viewers to watch the program on the channel’s website set up to support the advertising campaign whose slogan is: “Colombia: The only risk is wanting to stay”. The commercials are broadcast on channels such as CNN, Fox and the National Geographic channel.



Source: Comisión Fílmica Colombiana (03.2010)


Find this article at: 
http://www.locationcolombia.com/secciones/boletin/noticia.php?tipo=noticia&id=42


Learn why you should consider investing in Bogota, Colombia


Read about the audiovisual production industry in Bogota, Colombia


Read abut foreign investment in Bogota, Colombia