SA Tourism banks on Huang Xiaoming’s star power

South Australian Tourism has signed up one of China’s most popular film and TV stars to promote the state to Chinese visitors.

Chinese actor Huang Xiaoming has been appointed a Global Brand Ambassador for South Australia. (Photo: SA Tourism Commission)

South Australian Tourism has signed up one of China’s most popular film and TV stars to promote the state’s attractions to Chinese visitors, who have become the country’s biggest source of travel revenue.

Huang Xiaoming, also famous as a singer — and for marrying another actor, Angela “Angelababy” Yeung — has about 56 million followers on Weibo, China’s Twitter equivalent.

The number of Chinese tourists visiting the state soared by 56 per cent in the last full financial year, compared with 10 per cent growth in Chinese travellers in Australia as a whole.

And they spent an average $6,340 in the state, five times the average spend of British tourists.

But the total number of Chinese tourists to Australia in that year was about 1.2 million, with only about 56,000 going to South Australia, topped by 66,000 Britons. So the state wants to increase its attractiveness to Chinese visitors.

Visiting South Australia is about getting up close to nature, Mr Huang says. (Photo: SA Tourism Commission)

Mr Huang, who recently visited as a guest, said in an interview that one of the most important steps must be to encourage more airlines to fly directly between more Chinese cities and the state. When he flew there from Beijing, he had to transfer in Guangzhou.

He said his visit “made a very deep impression on me. I will try my very best to promote this destination, so it will become better known by Chinese people.”

It’s very different from other places where he has holidayed overseas, he said, such as France and Italy.

“The experience there is more about architecture, in South Australia it’s about getting up close to great nature, something I really like doing.”

He has been a strong champion of conservation efforts for China’s great panda over his decade as a top actor.

“It’s less relaxing, travelling to busy cities. I enjoyed the time in SA to be with myself and my family” — they have a year-old son — “just enjoying the moment.”