“Sri Lanka Tourism & Peking Express (Belgium) Sign an Agreement to Promote Sri Lanka Through a Popular Adventure Reality Series”

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Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau and The Echo Line Limited (ECL)- a Belgium based Film Production Company along with the French Company “Label Aventure” entered into an agreement for producing the 10th season of Adventure reality series called “Peking Express” for the French TV channel M6. The program will showcase entire 03 episodes out of the 11 taking place in Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka will get 330 minutes of exposure with the title called “Share the dream”.

Peking Express is a Dutch/Flemish reality game show that follows a series of couples as they hitchhike to or from Beijing. The series has already gone through five seasons. In the Netherlands it is screened by Net 5 and in Belgium by VT4. A German version was shown in 2004. The concept has also been sold to Scandinavia where it was broadcast for the first time in the autumn of 2007. The Scandinavian version is shown on Kanal 5 in Sweden, TV Norge in Norway and Kanal 5 in Denmark.

A French version named Pékin Express is screened by M6, with nine seasons aired by 2013. It can be seen on TV5 outside France. In Spain, the local version Pekín Express is shown on Cuatro, with four seasons by 2011. An Italian version has been produced in 2012 by RAI and shown on Rai 2 with success; a second season will be broadcast in 2013. In this connection, a team of 48 members will be in Sri Lanka from 14th – 25th Feb. 2014 for the filming of the 3 episodes of this show.

The tourism industry of Sri Lanka will receive enormous publicity from this TV series to target western European travelers to attract through this programme. Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau will be hosting their entire stay during the filming in Sri Lanka in February 2014 will facilitate their project by granting necessary approvals and waive off the crew registration charges. Mind Fire Production (pvt) Ltd. has been appointed as Local producer and facilitator for this production.

The agreement was signed by the two parties at the press conference held on 13th February at SLTPB in this regard. Officials including Mr. Rumy Jauffer –Managing Director SLTPB, Dr. D.S. Jayaweera –Director General SLTDA, Mr. Mahen Kariyawasam –President SLITO, Mr. Phillip Hendrickz – Producer Echo Line Limited (ECL)- Belgium expressed their views on the program and its befits to promote tourism industry of Sri Lanka at the press conference held.