Revitalized touring business hopes to overcome Ramsay Street setback
Only two of the 15 minivans Go West owns are currently registered because it was unsustainable to pay the $3,000 annual fee when the vehicles were not in use.
On Sunday, Britain’s Channel 5 announced it would end its financial deal with production house Fremantle to create Neighbors. Filming will end in June.
Mr Smit said it could spell the end of the Neighbors tours. Go West held one such tour last month and had a few more planned for this month and March.
Three-hour tours visit Pin Oak Court in southern Vermont, where the Ramsay Street exterior scenes are filmed, and Fremantle Studios in Nunawading, which house sets for locations such as Harold’s Cafe and Lassiter’s Hotel.
“We might have the ability to tour for a while after any production is finished,” Mr. Smit said. “But we don’t know if Fremantle will seek to dismantle the sets. They won’t stay there forever.
“So it would seem that the future of the Neighbors the tour is probably limited at the moment.
Neighbors tours contribute less than 5% of Go West Tours’ revenue, so Mr Smit said it wouldn’t be “a fatal blow” to lose him.
“But it’s a good product line for us,” he said. “I feel for the fans. We have received messages on our Facebook page saying how sad they are that this is potentially coming to an end. »
Mr Smit said some customers on the tour had been “Neighbors tragic”, with body paintings representing characters, while some are so well informed that they could lead the tours.
Some “fell to the ground and sobbed” while visiting filming locations.
Mr. Smit said that 90% of Neighbors tour customers were from Britain.
When asked why they loved the series, he said it portrayed the lifestyle of sunshine, backyards and swimming pools that many Britons dream of.
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