MELAKA: The Melaka State Assembly was informed that Chinese actress Fan Bingbing was appointed ambassador for the 2024 Visit Melaka (TMM2024), and sponsorship totalling RM498,347 was involved.
However, State Tourism, Heritage, Art, and Culture Committee chairman Datuk Abdul Razak Abdul Rahman clarified that the state government spent only RM77,850, or 16% of the total cost, with several companies covering the remainder.
“The RM77,850 borne by the state government was solely for promoting and organising the Melaka programme.
“The remaining RM420,497, which covered flight tickets, accommodation, transport, ground handling, professional services, and projector mapping at Encore Melaka, was sponsored by several private companies,” he said in response to a question by Dr Mohd Aleef Yusof (PN-Sungai Udang) at the state assembly yesterday.
In response to a supplementary question by Dr Mohd Aleef about the returns for the state government, Abdul Razak said that the results would be presented after the TMM2024 campaign ends on Dec 31.
He said that Fan’s presence significantly boosted online interest, as evidenced by her social media activity.
Fan has 26 million followers on social media, and there were nearly 1.2 billion searches about her during her three days in Melaka, with searches specifically for Melaka reaching 445 million.
“This represents a high return for the state government,” he said.
He also said Melaka will receive six international flights daily from China in September and October.
Fan, who has 63 million followers on Weibo – a social media platform in China similar to X – and 4.1 million Instagram followers, is widely recognised as a global face of Chinese culture.
Besides her roles in Chinese films, she has starred in the Hollywood superhero film X-Men: Days of Future Past and French and Korean films.
In 2017, Fan graced the cover of Time magazine and was named among the 100 Most Influential People. — Bernama
