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Australia is to feature in two episodes of popular Asian reality show, Running Man, as part of a collaboration between Tourism Australia, Tourism Victoria and the South Australia Tourism Commission (SATC) aimed at attracting more Chinese visitors Down Under.
The Melbourne Cricket Ground, the Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne Museum, Adelaide's Rundle Mall, Flinders University and Barossa Valley are amongst the locations which will provide the backdrop for a series of celebrity challenges filmed recently in Victoria and South Australia. The mega-production involved four days of intense filming and a crew of more than 200.
The Australian episodes are expected to be watched by more than a hundred million fans of the cult series in China and across Asia, when the show airs in January 2016.
As a spin-off of the original Korean series, the Chinese version of Running Man was first broadcast in October 2014 and is now in Season 3. In that time, the show has accumulated a viewership of more than 23 billion and generated over 150 million social media posts. The first three episodes of this season’s show have already generated more than 200 million online views.
Tourism Australia Managing Director John O’Sullivan, who got to play a small cameo role in one of the episodes, said the popularity of the show would build upon the recent success Australia had enjoyed showcasing its top tourism attractions through the eyes of well-known Asian celebrities.
“With its massive celebrities and huge audiences, Running Man is reality TV on steroids. Importantly, the audience profile for people watching the show aligns very closely with our target consumer, which makes the show a very appealing marketing platform for us,” he said.
The Federal Minister for Tourism and International Education, Senator the Hon. Richard Colbeck said, “Tourism Australia’s research has shown that Australia sits at the top of Chinese travellers’ travel ‘wish list’. Running Man is the perfect opportunity to showcase Australia’s strength in these areas to this crucial market and encourage them to convert that aspiration into actual holidays.”
"The Victorian Government is delighted that Victoria will again provide a backdrop for this blockbuster television format, broadcasting the sights of Melbourne to many millions of Chinese viewers. China is Victoria's biggest market in terms of visitor numbers and accounts for 31 per cent of all international tourism expenditure across the state so productions such as Running Man are pivotal in promoting our destination there," said Victoria’s Minister for Tourism & Major Events, John Eren.
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