Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh has recently defended the decision to appoint Fan Bingbing as the new Tourism Ambassador of Melaka 2024, saying that the actress has a big influence to attract more tourists to the Malaysian state.
In a statement to the media at the Melaka Dragon Boat Parade 2024, Ab Rauf stated that Fan’s multi-million followers on social media meant that anything that the actress promote on her various platforms will help boost the state’s tourism sector, especially in conjunction with the Visit Melaka Year 2024 (TMM2024).
“I listened, examined suggestions and comments from netizens regarding her appointment but I would like to inform you that Fan Bingbing’s presence has a greater impact on the state’s tourism sector at a world-class level,” he said.
“The state government also did not spend a lot of money for her appointment. Instead, we only manage the logistics aspect because the flight ticket is also sponsored by a local company. Her international manager is also a local and these factors facilitate the efforts.”
Fan Bingbing will be officially appointed as the ambassador on 15 June at Encore Melaka.
The actress has 63 million followers on Weibo and 4.1 million more on Instagram. She also recently started her RED account and quickly gathered massive followers.
(Photo Source: Fan Bingbing IG, Tourism Melaka IG)