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Huang Xiaoming announced as South Australian Tourism Ambassador

Tourism

Chinese celebrity Huang Xiaoming has been recruited to further boost South Australia’s booming tourism industry.

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The state, which has a reputation for premium food and wine and unspoilt natural beauty, is becoming a favourite destination for Chinese visitors.

Mr Huang has been appointed as South Australian Tourism Ambassador and features in a 90-second YouTube video, which was released today and will be shared with his 53 million followers on social media during the coming year.

International tourism is booming in South Australia with expenditure passing the billion dollar mark for the first time earlier this year. Chinese tourism is the top driver of the growth with expenditure up 74 per cent to $AU352 million in the past year.

South Australia has also seen a dramatic increase in the number of Chinese visitors – jumping 56 percent to 56,000 in the past year. This has coincided with an increase in Chinese demand for premium Australian wine, of which South Australia is the major producer.

Mr Huang announced his appointment at a press conference to media and trade in Beijing following a visit to South Australia last month when the video was filmed.

The superstar actor and singer has featured in Forbes China Celebrity list for 12 consecutive years and has also been ranked as China’s number one male celebrity four years in a row.

The video features footage of Huang experiencing some of South Australia’s most iconic natural regions and landmarks and enjoying fresh produce and seafood.

Mr Huang said he was delighted to be the ambassador for South Australia.

“I had the pleasure of visiting this beautiful state in November and really enjoyed my time there,” he said.

“South Australia is a place where you can enjoy breathtaking natural scenery, meet the local wildlife, and experience world-class vineyards and food to enjoy the best of Australia.”

Many South Australian tourism operators have successfully courted Chinese tourists, including the pair behind a blockbuster Chinese property website JUWAI.

The JUWAI founders Simon Henry and Andrew Taylor have launched a tourism app for Chinese tourists in South Australia.

Called UWAI (游外 yóu wài – ‘travel abroad’), the app aims to make it easier for Chinese visitors to engage with locals, do business or just order a meal. UWAI can be downloaded free from both Apple and Android stores.

South Australian Tourism Minister Leon Bignell spent some time with Mr Huang during his recent stay and said he found him to be a genuine and passionate advocate for the state.

“With China Southern introducing two additional flights a week to Adelaide we will soon be seeing even more high-end visitors touching down in Adelaide to discover Mr Huang’s SA,” he said.

“Not only will it lead to greater awareness of South Australia in China, but it also supports the wine industry strategy to drive international visitors to wine regions by tapping into China’s social media networks and promoting Adelaide as the ‘Wine Capital of Australia’ with more than 200 cellar doors located within an hour of the city.”

This is a Creative Commons story from The Lead South Australia, a news service providing stories about innovation in South Australia. Please feel free to use the story in any form of media. The story sources are linked in with the copy and all contacts are willing to talk further about the story. Copied to Clipboard

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