Namibia bets
on "Brangelina" tourism boom
Friday April 28, 09:21 AM
WINDHOEK (Reuters) - Congratulations Namibia ... it's a Brangelina
baby boom.
Namibian officials hope the world media furore over a visit by
pregnant Hollywood star Angelina Jolie and her partner Brad Pitt
will translate into a tourist rush to the African country, famous
chiefly for its huge sand dunes and vast empty spaces.
"If Angelina Jolie gives birth in Namibia, she would have done for
our tourism sector what our tourism board budget cannot do in a
year," Namibian Ambassador to the United States Hopelong Iipinge
said in a letter released to the media late on Thursday.
He said the Namibian embassy in Washington had been "inundated with
calls from the media and individuals enquiring about Namibia,"
including requests from major media outlets for video footage of
the country's chief attractions.
Jolie and Pitt, dubbed "Brangelina" by the tabloid press and
described along with their adopted children as "the world's most
beautiful family" this week by People magazine, arrived in Namibia
this month amid reports they planned to have their first baby in
the country, far from the Hollywood spotlight.
The baby -- due within weeks -- has ignited a paparazzi rush to the
remote coastal resort where Jolie and Pitt are staying, prompting
Namibia's government to expel several photographers and slap strict
new limits on media access.
The security has been criticised as excessive by Namibia's main
human rights watchdog, but Iipinge said the extra security made
sense.
"It would be an honour for Namibia to become the birthplace of the
Pitts' first biological child," Iipinge said, saying privacy was
one thing the remote African country could offer the Hollywood
pair.
"The publicity we are receiving is because of Angelina and Brad and
not the paparazzi. The paparazzi will not come to Namibia on their
own. They will only do so when following a celebrity. Angelina and
Brad Pitt can boost tourism but the paparazzi cannot," Iipinge
said.
Namibia, a country of deserts and diamonds neighbouring South
Africa, boasts one of the lowest population densities in the world
and has not made the menu for many international travellers despite
its good infrastructure, scenic game parks and harsh arid
landscape.
But images of Namibia, including its famous sand dunes, have hit
the world's magazines and television screens thanks to media
managing by Jolie and Pitt, who despite their pleas for privacy
have welcomed a few select reporters to the coastal lodge where
they are staying with their two adopted children.
"Never before have we had so much publicity," Iipinge said.
"Angelina Jolie is not only a movie star, she is also the U.N.
Goodwill Ambassador and this is the combination which makes her the
draw card," he said.
(source:
Yahoo! News)
