Obesity Tourism

I was reading this posting over at ¡No Pasarán! and just about died laughing when I read this linked article in the The Sunday Times from last November. Apparently Robert Mugabe’s government in Zimbabwe has come up with a very unconventional method to solve the food crisis threatening half its population with starvation. Quoting from The Herald, the article said:

“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.”

I guess that once you come up with a proposal for something like the so-called Obesity Tourism Strategy, the sales pitch just writes itself!