The knives are out for five Dutch couples this month as they
compete to win the chance of a lifetime in New Zealand.
Dutch celebrity chef Herman den Blijker, the "Gordon Ramsey of
Holland", is currently in New Zealand filming an eight-part reality
television show that will air in September.
The show will see five couples compete in a series of challenges
around the country over three weeks in February and March, with the
inevitable eliminations along the way. The winning couple will win
two roles to work as head chef and maitre d' at an Accor hotel.
Regional Manager UK/Europe Gregg Anderson said Tourism New
Zealand was supporting the series because it provided an
opportunity to have a real impact in the Dutch market.
"The series and its promotion will create awareness and news
'talkability' for New Zealand in the Netherlands and showcase New
Zealand's food and wine, culture and diverse scenery.
"With almost eight hours of content it will also provide Dutch
travellers with more reasons to go to New Zealand, stay for longer
and do more," Gregg Anderson added.
The entire series of eight-one hour episodes will be filmed in
New Zealand, and it will air prime-time on RTL4, one of the biggest
television channels in the Netherlands. It's expected to attract
estimated audiences of one million for eight weeks from August
2010.
The episodes will be repeated twice and the series will also be
promoted by RTL4 online and with trailers and publicity.
Herman den Blijker is a regular face on Dutch television and has
fronted nine different television series between 2006 and 2010. He
is also an author and has two restaurants in Rotterdam.
Though the nature of the challenges are being closely guarded by
RTL4's production crew, the series will showcase the best New
Zealand has to offer in terms of scenery, food and wine, cooking
talent and culture.
Cast and crew will travel from Auckland to Rotorua, Taupo,
Wellington, Marlborough and Queenstown.
With 24,300 Dutch visitors in the year to January 2010, Holland
is a smaller market for New Zealand. However, Dutch travellers tend
to stay longer, spend more and travel more widely than visitors
from other markets.
For the first time, the 100% Pure New Zealand campaign has been
running online in Amsterdam in recent months. To coincide with an
increase in interest, the international gateway of Tourism New
Zealand's visitor website now has a Dutch language edition: www.newzealand.com/nl
Links between New Zealand and Holland go back to 1642, when Abel
Tasman and his crew were the first Europeans to sight what is now
known as New Zealand. Between 1951 and 1968m close to 24,000 Dutch
nationals settled in New Zealand.
Read more about
the Netherlands in our online market guide
Read more
about Tourism New Zealand's international media programme