The European Travel Channel is filming a TV series along the Oregon Coast this week and next, with scheduled stops in the Bay Area. In partnership with Travel Oregon, the travel channel is filming for the 15-part series, “Oregon Uncovered,” which will debut January 2009.

The film crew will stop at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Umpqua Lighthouse, Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area and the Salmon Harbor Marina.

While other parts of the region are getting their fair share of coverage, Coos Bay and North Bend’s is a little more sparse. Coos Bay’s Oregon Connection House of Myrtlewood is the sole attraction featured from the Bay Area, said the director of the Coos Bay/North Bend Visitor & Convention Bureau.

The bureau didn’t take part with other agencies and businesses that collaborated to provide funding for the series, Director Katherine Hoppe said.

“The cost was $3,000 a minute,” Hoppe said. “We looked at it, but we don’t have the money to cover Oregon or the U.S., so we didn’t have money for Europe.”

The request came from Travel Oregon and the Oregon Coast Visitors Authority. But by July, it was already too late to sign on, after the bureau completed its annual budget, she said.

The Reedsport/Winchester Bay Chamber of Commerce opted to be part of the collaboration.

“It was a cooperative thing with OCVA,” Chamber Office Manager Robin Dollar said.

Travel Oregon, Oregon’s tourism commission, is sponsoring seven of the episodes, and a slew of sponsors across the state are paying for the rest.

The 23-minute-long Oregon Coast segment cost $33,000, of which OCVA paid $10,000 over the last two years, according to its executive director, Rebecah Morris. Five coastal chambers and one business partnered with OCVA, paying $3,500 each to secure filming in their areas. Morris said the notice to participate went out to the Coos Bay/North Bend Visitor & Convention Bureau and The Mill Casino-Hotel via e-mails in July 2007, but neither participated.

“Especially on these big projects like this, if we could have had more partners we could have gotten more segments,” Morris said. “But, I’m really happy we got the one segment.”

Chipping in money was not the only consideration though. Morris said Travel Oregon gave its input, as well as the OCVA. Bandon Dunes was chosen even though it did not help out with funding.

“In the film, if Seaside is doing kite flying, the European market sees it as the entire Oregon Coast,” Morris said.

The film crew will stop at the House of Myrtlewood, owned by Star of Hope, a nonprofit that employs adults with developmental disabilities.

Hoppe said she thinks the business was chosen because of the wood’s uniqueness to the area.

LouAnn Dewater, general manager of the House of Myrtlewood, said she heard of another reason.

“The producer, herself, has connections,” Dewater said. “She used to live in Oregon. She talked about how she used to give gifts made of myrtlewood. It’s a cool connection.”

Dewater said she got a call about two weeks ago from the producer, who asked her to block out two hours so crews could film milling and turning of wood into objects.

“They have a host that’s coming with them,” Dewater said. “We’re thrilled to death we were picked. It’s wonderful.”

The European Travel Channel film crew began shooting the series in Portland in October 2007 and will wrap up in Southern Oregon this September. Across the state, Mount Bachelor, Multnomah Falls, historic Jacksonville and wineries in the Willamette Valley will be included in the series.

The show, featuring the attractions, people and experiences in the state, will be aired for three years, showing twice weekly in Germany, Luxembourg, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Netherlands, according to a Travel Oregon press release.

Hoppe said international travel on the coast has increased in the last year. This year, Oregon was named the No. 1 destination in Germany. The Visitor & Convention Bureau has seen a substantial increase in requests from Germany this July.

“Where we saw five to 10  last year, right now we’ve had over 100 requesting information from Germany,” Hoppe said. “It’s been great to have European travelers coming to this area.

“They’re very independent,” she said. “They love coastal, rural and tribal things. Scenic drives is another great hit with European travelers.

“We’re reaching nearly 48 million Europeans,” she said. “So we’re very excited about it.”