Survivor’s tour guide
From: calgarysun.com
A TV new adventure reality show featuring Ethan and Jenna coming soon!
by Sarah Kennedy
Calgary Sun
Calgary native Bruce Poon Tip is the mastermind behind some of Survivor’s most primitive locations.
The sun-bleached Outback of Australia, the wild game reserves of Kenya and the damp canopy of the Amazon were all chosen by the CBS producers — based on the advice of the successful tourism entrepreneur.
Yet despite his valuable input, he’s only recently started watching the four-year-old show. “I’ve just lately got hooked on Survivor,” says Poon Tip.
Producers contacted Poon Tip for destination planning before the taping of Survivor: The Australian Outback.
“They wanted to know areas and ideas to look at,” says Poon Tip, who was speaking at his alma mater Mount Royal College Nov. 17.
Poon Tip, whose company Great Adventure People (G.A.P.) specializes in grassroots adventure travel, had to suggest places that were rustic enough to make interesting television, but also include facilities and amenities for the show’s host and crew.
The most difficult of all the hot spots was the Amazon. “First off it’s not a dry and aired spot,” says Poon Tip. “People couldn’t just sleep on the ground.”
And because the area was so isolated, there were not the proper accommodations for the crew.
As a result, producers pushed the Amazon adventure to season six so that they could iron out the details with Poon Tip.
G.A.P. has maintained its connections with the popular reality show.
Former Survivor cast members Lex VanDenBerghe (Survivor: Africa) and Hunter Ellis (Survivor: Marquesas) co-led trips with trained G.A.P. tour guides and Jenna Morasca (Survivor: Amazon) and boyfriend Ethan Zohn (Survivor: Africa) will also co-lead a jungle tour in Costa Rica and a Peru Inca Trail trip.
G.A.P. will be joining the travel-reality bandwagon in January with a self-titled, 13-episode series on CTV.
Camera crews will follow regular travellers on their adventures to places such as Kenya, Peru, Patagonia, Antarctica and the unspoiled Galapagos Islands.
“It will be about the highs and lows of travelling,” says Poon Tip.
Although he does not profess to be a reality TV guru, the adventurous CEO knows the best businessman, currently dominating the screen.
“No question it’s Richard Branson (host of Rebel Billionaire:Branson’s Quest For The Best),” says Poon Tip, who also counts The Amazing Race as a favourite. “Donald Trump isn’t a businessman. He’s what you call a negotiator. He moves other people’s money around. There is no comparison between the two men.”