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Island misses out as next Survivor destination

Spoiler: A small island nation has missed out on the opportunity to star in two seasons of Survivor.

Spoiler: The Pacific archipelago of Tonga has missed out on the opportunity to star in two seasons of Survivor, with Fiji now likely to benefit from their loss.

The reality show was expected to inject a much-needed $US6 million into the little kingdom’s flagging economy when it started filming next month but Survivor co-producer Leisa Francis said they had not been able to secure accommodation.

“This was an incredible opportunity for us, a once in a lifetime opportunity to showcase our country to the world and finally put us on the map,” Tonga’s newly installed director of tourism, Sakopo Lolohea told AAP.

“This was going to generate cash for us like we’ve never seen before, but the chance has slipped through our fingers.

“I am very, very sad.”

Survivor had planned to film for several months in Tonga’s picturesque north island group, Vava’u but there were issues with local operators when it came to booking the 25,000 room nights needed.

“This is not a problem with Survivor, it’s a problem with our own people not understanding the huge national benefit of making this happen,” Mr Lolohea said.

Source: Southland Times

5 Responses

  1. @Lewis: Exactly! I’m really surprised that with Nines lackluster line-up at the moment, and the possibility of GO!, that they haven’t been able to find room for it.

    It’s nothing new, but it always surprises me… because whenever Nine give this show proper attention it rates decent for them.

    I still think it should be on at 7.30 rather than 9.30-10.00 (which they’ve done recently)… to me it always seems to rate better when it’s on earlier… I can remember a year that it did well in a 7.30 Saturday timeslot… I think sometimes people forget that ‘Survivor’ likes to classify itself as a “family show”.

  2. @DavidH: Worrying signs IMO. Unless they can do something like they did with Panama, which was first ‘themed’ as Pearl Islands, and then Exile Island. Same location, no real gimmick in either season, just the pirate theme and then the addition of a game-twist. Maybe in Fiji they can theme one season and/or base another around a game-feature, like Redemption Island.

    @henry: Yes, I heard many rumours about the Philippines, specifically Caramoan, being the location of the next season(s). Maybe Tonga was for 2012.

  3. These rumours conflict with the other ones that say the Philippines is the next location. There have been multiple spoiler sources that say Philippines is definitely the next season, but this sounds also credible…

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