The Joys of Fake Tourism

Okey, I know this is supposed to be a travel blog, but I think it is appropriate to include fake tour destinations, especially when the fake tour is actually bringing in tourists and money. Actually the article about it in today's NY Times made me actually want to call my travel agent and go. And the article, "Battle Royal Lingers Over Head of State for a Czech State of Mind" is hysterical. (Page A7)
It all started as a joke when a local photographer (Tomas Harabis) in Frenstat in the Czech Republic made up a fake kingdom which he called the Kingdom of Wallachia. Wallachia happens to be a real place in the northeast corner of the Czech Republic, 230 miles from Prague.
According to the NY Times article the fake kingdom has..."the requisites of authentic statehood, including a currency called the jurovaslar; consulates in the Arctic Circle and Togo; a Royal Wallachian Navy consisting of 40 wooden canoes; a bright yellow Communist-era limousine for use by visiting dignitaries; and a burgundy passport, covered with a picture of the pagan god Radegast, that Mr. Harabis says he has used to cross the border from Canada to Alaska."
When Mr Harabis decided to crown a local TV actor ( Bolek Polivka) as the new
King of Wallachia in 2000, the formal coronation was televised nationally and attended by 5,000 guests.
As the photo shows, visitors come to the region "partly because of the region's
status as an imaginary kingdom." It is also earning income from the sale of passports for the kingdom.
What started as a joke has evolved into a major lawsuit because of the large income generated by the imaginary kingdom!
A second fake travel income generator is the very funny spoof on travel guides; the Jetlag series from Woodstock at www.overlookpress.com. My favorite is "Molvania: A Land Untouched by Modern Dentistry," but there are at least 6 others including the very popular "Getting Around the Tofu Islands, South East Asia's Forgotten Jewel," and Surviving Moustaschistan, Central Asia's Forgotten Jewel."
In this time of severe economic problems, what could be better and cheaper than a fake tour?