Guatemala Hopes Network´s Reality Show Will Boost Local Tourism

Guatemalan officials are hoping that the new edition of the CBS reality show Survivor will draw more tourists to the spectacular Mayan ruins of the Peten jungle.

"It is a TV show seen by 200 million people and we have the opportunity to show our archaeological riches," presidential tourism commissioner Willy Kaltschmitt was quoted as saying by new organizations.

The American television network announced last week that the next edition of Survivor would be called "Guatemala: The Maya Empire." Earlier versions were shot in places such as Australia´s Outback, Palau, Thailand and the Amazon region.

Kaltschmitt said he hopes the program, set at the Yaxha archaeological park, will fit into government efforts to promote the heritage of the Maya cultures that flourished across the region about 2,000 years ago.

Yaxha is a few miles northeast of the famed Maya city of Tikal. The region is noted for ancient architecture and the competition will take place during the rainy season in an area that sees rain, on average, 185 days a year.

CBS accepted restrictions required for activity in a national park, Kaltschmitt said, and Guatemala promised to facilitate the program.