Saturday, October 5, 2024 The Malaysian state of Melaka is currently enjoying an extraordinary influx of tourists, with visitor numbers surpassing all expectations. By the end of September 2024, the state had nearly reached 10 million visitors, exceeding its original goal of 8.7 million for the year.
This boom in tourism can be attributed to a strategic move made by the state government in July when it named Chinese actress Fan Bingbing as its tourism ambassador. Fan’s immense popularity, particularly in China, has significantly boosted Melaka’s visibility on the global stage, drawing waves of tourists, both local and international. Fan Bingbing, a widely renowned Chinese actress with over 63 million followers on Weibo (China’s version of Twitter), has had an undeniable impact on Melaka’s tourism scene.
Since her appointment as ambassador, Fan’s influence, especially on social media, has created a tidal wave of interest among potential visitors. The state government’s choice to name her as their tourism face was a masterstroke, leveraging her celebrity status to highlight Melaka as an attractive destination for Chinese tourists, who now represent a significant proportion of the total international visitors. In a separate report by Channel News Asia (CNA), it was noted that Fan’s social media posts featuring her visit to Melaka played a key role in inspiring tourists from China to explore the state.
One tourist, identified only as Yiyi, mentioned how seeing Fan i.
