Tourism New Zealand has started to utilise Weibo, China's version of Twitter, to attract Chinese tourists to visit the country.

Tourism NZ has appointed Yao Chen, China's most followed microblogger, as its brand ambassador in the Mainland. Yao caught the attention of more than 10.9 million followers on Sina Weibo.

Yao went on a promotional trip to New Zealand under the marketing campaign ‘100 Hours: Chen Yao Revives Your Emotions'. Yao showed her followers New Zealand's sights through attached photos in her entries.

Tourism NZ General Manager Asia Markets, Mark Frood, was quoted in eTurbo News as having said that they believe that Yao's influence will help raise Chinese tourists' interest in their country and encourage them to experience New Zealand first-hand.

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