Prague - Some might call it "haute couture", some will see it as down-to-earth as possible, perhaps even outright cynical. The new strategy to lure foreigners into visiting Prague will be based on parading the beauty of Czech women.
The city council decided earlier this week that showing the top Czech fashion models off is the best way to present the capital city abroad.
The councilors have already chosen a French television channel Fashion TV as its key partnner. The broadcaster, which specializes in fashion and lifestyle programs, will get 8,5 millions Czech crowns for the job.
The target group will be young singles and couples. Thinking behinds this is that precisely these people like to travel, expect luxury and are prepared to pay for it.
"A bargain"
"Not only is the planned advertising campaign focused on the right segment of potential visitors, it is a bargain as well," said Milan Richter, a councilor for cultural affairs who had brought the suggestion to the council.
A campaign like this would cost at least 20 million CZK under "normal" conditions, said Richter.
There will be two different spots - a 15-second invitation and 30-second clip in the style of Alfons Mucha, the famed art-nouveau painter, whose museum in Panská Street continues to draw crowds of tourists.
In the first half of 2008, these segments will be aired six hundred times. Fashion TV chas been in business since 1997.
