Greece Goes Viral in China with Chinese Superstar Dilraba

Chinese megastar Dilraba Dilmurat. Photo Source: @Dilraba_

Greek destinations last month “reached” thousands of Chinese viewers through two episodes of “Slow Life: Feel the World” featuring Chinese megastar Dilraba (or Dilireba) Dilmurat, who has over 63 million followers on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter.

“Slow Life: Feel the World” is a celebrity travel reality show.

The multi-award-winning Dilraba, ranked 16th this year in Forbes China Celebrity 2019 list, visited Santorini and Kefalonia earlier this year for the filming of the popular show which aired in October on Weibo; iQiyi, a Beijing-based online video platform; and BTV (Beijing Media Network).

Chinese megastar Dilraba Dilmurat. Photo Source: @Dilraba_

Travel and filming arrangements for the Chinese superstar and her crew were made by the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) in collaboration with island professionals.

Show-related hashtags such as #FeeltheWorld, #Dilraba wedding dress in Greece, and #Dilraba calls grandma in Greece went viral reaching millions of Weibo users in China. The hashtag #Dilireba travel in Greece reached first place on Weibo’s Travel Topic List with 1.4 billion views and almost 16 million discussions.

Moreover, both episodes of “Slow Life: Feel the World” topped the IQIYI Hot Topics list.

Meanwhile, many posts of screenshots of Dilireba with the GNTO’s logo went viral on Chinese social media.

The celebrity travel reality show “Slow Life: Feel the World” reached 400 million video views in its first season last year.

Greece goes to China’s luxury trade fair

In the meantime, as part of Greece’s efforts to reach out to the Chinese market and increase tourism flows, the GNTO participated this year in the International Luxury Tourism Market (ILTM) China 2019 trade fair.

According to the GNTO, arrivals and bookings from China to Greece are expected to record a new increase in 2019, maintaining the momentum of last year’s double-digit growth (25.18 percent).

Earlier this month, Greece signed an agreement with Chinese carrier Juneyao Air for direct flights from Shanghai to Athens as of July 2020 with the goal to bring some 500,000 Chinese travelers to Greece by 2021.