Actress Fan Bingbing conferred honorary datukship for boosting Melaka tourism

MELAKA – Chinese actress Fan Bingbing, who has been conferred the Darjah Pangkuan Seri Melaka (DPSM), has pledged to continue promoting the historic city to global tourists.

“I will be here in Melaka next month to promote tourism and will travel here frequently,” she said after receiving the honorary award, which carries the title Datuk. The investiture ceremony was held in conjunction with the birthday of Melaka Governor Mohd Ali Rustam on Aug 24.

Fan, 43, said she deeply treasures the recognition from the Melaka government.

She joins the ranks of international stars honoured by Malaysia for their contributions to tourism, including Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan and Hong Kong movie star Jackie Chan.

Fan is best known internationally for her roles in American superhero film X-Men: Days Of Future Past (2014) and Chinese film I Am Not Madame Bovary (2016). The actress, who has not acted in a production from China since a major tax evasion scandal in 2018, has pivoted to working outside the country in recent years.

On Aug 21, Melaka Chief Minister Ab Rauf Yusoh told Malaysian newspaper The Star that the DPSM was in appreciation of Fan’s influence in attracting visitors to Melaka and creating unprecedented visibility for the state on the global tourism stage.

“She has helped catapult the historic city into the global tourism spotlight, and we deeply appreciate her efforts,” he said.

Fan was appointed as Melaka’s Tourism Friendship Ambassador in conjunction with Visit Melaka Year 2024.

Since then, her involvement has driven considerable online engagement, with the Malaysian state recording more than 1.5 billion click-through rates on China’s popular WeChat platform. The figure is viewed as one of Malaysia’s most significant digital tourism milestones.

On the ground, Chinese tourist arrivals to Melaka rose sharply from 204,818 in 2023 to 664,687 in 2024. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK