California names actress as Chinese tourism ambassador

Chinese tourists are the fastest-growing and highest-spending foreign visitors to California, and the Golden State is going to great lengths to keep them coming.

That includes appointing a Chinese actress to serve as the state’s official tourism ambassador to mainland China.

California has also increased its marketing budget to $1.6 million from $600,000 and hired a China-based marketing group to promote the state.

The new ambassador, Beijing-born Gao Yuanyuan, is touring California next week and making appearances at popular tourists spots such as Staples Center and Universal Studios Hollywood. Her appearances will be shown on websites that are popular in China.

California is China’s top U.S. destination, with nearly 50% of Chinese tourists visiting the state. The number of Chinese visitors to California is expected to more than double between 2011 and 2015, for a total of 1.1 million annual arrivals by 2015.

When visiting California, Chinese visitors spend an average of about $2,900 per trip, compared with about $1,900 for all other overseas tourists.

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