The UAE’s most social media-savvy brothers are back. Following a hit first season, Mohammad and Peyman Parham Al Awadhi, the two Emirati brothers behind travel show Peeta Planet will return on April 18 for their weekly show on Dubai One. And this time, it’s bigger and even more social.
“In season one we were still trying out a lot of stuff. In season two it’s about taking in all those things we learned and getting better at it,” says Mohammad. “You’ll be shocked if you went back to season one, episode one and watch the show now and see how different it is.”
A travel show with a social media twist — where viewers get involved via online platforms during production — Peeta Planet has successfully cashed in on the Middle East’s growing use of social media, says Mohammad.
“Dubai One has about 50 million viewers in the region and season one was the third most viewed show on their network. So we were really happy they asked us to do season two,” he says.
Just like the first season, the show will feature 12 destinations, each turned into 21-minute episodes. While the format will be similar, this time, followers on social media were asked to vote on three destinations. And they picked Chile, Costa Rica and Greece.
“Our top three followers are from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. So we were quite surprised they picked those three. But it just goes to show people are curious what goes on in these places. They want to find out more,” says Mohammad.
The concept of Peeta Planet was born out of a shawarma chain the brothers started in 2009 called Wild Peeta, which saw customers getting involved with everything from the menu to the decor via social media. The social travel show, which premiered in April last year, used the same concept, empowering their followers to get involved and sometimes dictating what they did on their travels, who they met and what they saw.
That has allowed them to see and experience things beyond those listed in travel books and websites, and taken them to roads less travelled, says Mohammad.
“There’s such a strong technology aspect to travel now, from how you use hardware and apps and software. There’s an organic trend of people using social networks to travel that today it almost sounds redundant. It’s what people do today,” he says.
“You travel to a city, you ask your followers or friends for recommendations and people will help you out. And before you know it, you will have an itinerary. Forget a trip to the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty. You might go there if you have absolutely nothing to do or if you are the most boring person in the world. It’s all about discovering new things, learning things and meeting the most interesting people. It’s all about making the connections.”
Peeta Planet is supported by Abu Dhabi’s TwoFour54, the InterContinental Hotels Group and Google.
Having partners such as Google has made putting the show together so much easier, says Mohammad.
“We take so many of these things for granted but I don’t know what I will do without apps like Google Translate. We were in Latin America for about four weeks where people only spoke either Portuguese or Spanish. It just made it so easy whether we were ordering room-temperature water or a sandwich, it just empowers you so much.”
But beyond the technology and the social media, Mohammad says Peeta Planet will always be about the most important aspect of travel: cultural exchange.
“That’s the most powerful thing about the show. And that’s one of the reasons why this show must go on,” he says. “Two weeks ago we were in Rio de Janeiro and we were filming at a carnival. There was a lady wearing a kandoura and gutra [the head dress]. She wasn’t wearing it correctly. She waved at us, we waved back and I walked up to her and asked her if I could fix her head dress. After I did that, the whole crowd around us started cheering and clapping. That cultural exchange was powerful.
“We need to see more of this stuff. We might just be two Arabs travelling and doing normal everyday things, but we are making this dialogue and hopefully a positive impact.”
Peeta Planet premieres on April 18 at 8.30pm on Dubai One. For more on the show, go to peetaplanet.com.
