Day Tripper - notes on a TV travel magazine show

(updated 7/20/2010)

Day Tripper - notes on a TV travel magazine show...

Notes on a TV travel magazine show, entitled "Day Tripper", that were originally assembled on August 13, 1992, and revised on July 19, 2010.

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Concept...

To induce Ontarians to get out more and visit the many and varied tourist attractions in Ontario, here is a proposal to produce a series of informative and entertaining videos about the tourist attractions one can visit without planning on a Sunday afternoon, or in a planned visit that may require reservations.

A half-hour information package on at least three attractions would air on Sunday mornings around nine or ten o'clock. Viewers would watch the show and pick one of the attractions to visit that very afternoon. Sponsors would make commercial offers for that specific show as a value-added incentive to make the viewer get out and travel on that particular day.

Each segment of a show would be about five to seven minutes long, allowing for up to three or four attractions to be featured each episode. Male and female co-hosts (25 to 35 years old, bright, athletically average, congenial, with many interests) would experience the attraction and relate first-hand information to the viewers. Appropriate younger guest hosts could be used for kid-oriented attractions, and celebrities could be used for attractions like The Hockey Hall of Fame.

The format...

...would not be too different from many informative television shows, but would need to be such as to impart this key information...

what one might see and do at the attraction
where the attraction is (how to get there, how long it would take from a regional center)
what are the costs, if any, for admission, refreshments, or activities
what the sponsor is offering - an admission discount, or product giveaway, or other associated item

The sponsors...

The tourist attraction itself might be the principal sponsor, or the sponsor could be product-oriented - like Pepsi-Cola, or Frito-Lays. A food industry facility (McDonald's, Swiss Chalet), or an accommodations facility (Best Western), or a transport industry facility (Petro Canada, Ford Canada) might also make an excellent sponsor. Provincial, regional, and municipal governments might also make good sponsors.

Examples of attractions...

Here is a short list of attractions that would be suitable for this travel magazine.

Same-day attractions, within 1 1/2 hours from Metro Toronto, in any direction...

Wild Water Kingdom - Toronto
Canada's Wonderland - Toronto
African Lion Safari - Hamilton
Centerville - Toronto Island
CN Tower - Toronto
Casa Loma - Toronto
Harbourfront Antique Market - Toronto
Royal Ontario Museum - Toronto
Ontario Science Center - Toronto
McLaughlin Planetarium - Toronto
Canadian Air & Space Museum - Toronto

Attractions which may require some planning...

Storybook Gardens - London
Stratford Theatre - Stratford
Kawartha Summer Theatre - Kawarthas
Science North - Sudbury
Niagara Falls - Niagara Falls
Parliament Buildings - Ottawa
Darlington Nuclear Plant - Pickering
Fort Henry - Kingston

There wouldn't always have to be an economic angle to the attraction. Public parks and recreation facilities could also be included - where to ski or skate, where to picnic or swim or hike - locations like these might catch the interest. Roadside attractions, like the Canada goose in Wawa, would also be worth mentioning. Any attraction that gets resident Ontarians or visitors out and about would be a good one.

Regional variations...

Other provinces or regions could have their own shows, with different co-hosts, and different sponsors.

Radio, and print media...

If the format is successful enough, versions could be aired on radio or promoted in print media. Easily recognized visual and audible signatures or "logos" would allow this.