quote:ZIMBABWE has come up with a bizarre proposal to solve the food crisis threatening half its population with starvation. It wants to bring in obese tourists from overseas so that they can shed pounds doing manual labour on land seized from white farmers. The so-called Obesity Tourism Strategy was reported last week in The Herald, a government organ whose contents are approved by President Robert Mugabe’s powerful information minister, Jonathan Moyo.
Pointing out that more than 1.2 billion people worldwide are officially deemed to be overweight, the article exhorted Zimbabweans to “tap this potential”.
“Tourists can provide labour for farms in the hope of shedding weight while enjoying the tourism experience,” it said, adding that Americans spent $6 billion a year on “useless” dieting aids.
“Tour organisers may promote this programme internationally and bring in tourists, while agriculturalists can employ the tourists as free farm labour.
“The tourists can then top it all by flaunting their slim bodies on a sun-downer cruise on the Zambezi or surveying the majestic Great Zimbabwe ruins.”
The notion that oversized, overpaid Americans could be enticed into paying to spend their holidays working free for those who seized the country’s commercial farms illustrates how far the Mugabe regime has descended into a fantasy world.
All I can say is . . . Holy SCHNIKES! Do Mugabe and Moyo really think that anyone would do this?
Read the whole thing -- very interesting stuff.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Yeah, I don't think 'labour for farms' necessarily equals 'enjoying the tourism experience'.
Posted by Jim-Me (Member # 6426) on :
"Fat Farm" anyone?
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
Jim-Me, get out of my head. I thought the same thing.
Posted by advice for robots (Member # 2544) on :
You have to admit it's creative.
Posted by kaioshin00 (Member # 3740) on :
quote: “The tourists can then top it all by flaunting their slim bodies on a sun-downer cruise on the Zambezi or surveying the majestic Great Zimbabwe ruins.”
I dont know why, but I find that endlessly amusing.
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
*shrug* I think Americans pay for a lot less effective and/or pleasant weight-loss schemes.
Posted by WheatPuppet (Member # 5142) on :
I wouldn't be opposed to doing it, except that they'd have to pay me... and I might not actually do any work. I'd probably flee the country.
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
I'd just love to see the travel agent who would promote this.
"There's also this obesity tourism program in Zimbabwe."
"What are you implying?"
"Nothing, I just thought..."
"You're implying I'm obese! How dare you! I'm finding another agent!"
[ December 03, 2004, 03:26 PM: Message edited by: blacwolve ]
Posted by sndrake (Member # 4941) on :
I'm with Eljay on this one.
I don't know how - no pun intended - big the potential market is for this, but...
I think it's pretty clear that affluent Americans with real or imagined weight issues can be made to part with lots of money and do outrageous things with the right marketing strategy.
Posted by Foust (Member # 3043) on :