Popular Chinese talk show Morning Call will broadcast five episodes on Ireland over the next few months, with the first episode having premiered on Friday October 20. Presented by Gao Xiaosong, the programme has swept all the talk show awards in China and has accumulated over 1.85 billion views. Together with its radio channels, the accumulated views and listeners total up to 5 billion.
Gao and his film crew were in Ireland last month on a bespoke tour of the country, arranged and hosted by Fáilte Ireland in collaboration with Tourism Ireland. The visit was also assisted by the Irish Embassy in Beijing, with Gao meeting President Higgins while in Dublin.
The visit was specially designed to promote Ireland to the Chinese market with the Chinese programme visiting and filming at various spots such as Cnoc Suain, Connemara, Trinity College, the Irish Whiskey Museum, the Writers Museum, the Oscar Wilde Statue at Merrion Park, the EPIC Irish Emigration Museum and Dublin Castle. To convey a sense of Ireland, the Chinese media also went to the All-Ireland hurling final, met the Cranberries in Limerick and embarked on a pub tour of Dublin with professional guide Lorcan Collins.
Ciara Sugrue, Fáilte Ireland’s Head of International Publicity, asserted, “This is a fantastic coup for Irish tourism and will bring Ireland to the attention of millions of Chinese viewers. It is hugely important for Ireland to gain greater exposure in the Chinese market place and we were delighted to assist this popular Chinese talk show by showcasing the best Ireland has to offer. We hope the fun, excitement and enjoyment of an Irish visit – as conveyed by the programme - will prove infectious and encourage many viewers to put Ireland on their ‘to visit’ list.”
Last year, Ireland welcomed an estimated 55,000 – 65,000 Chinese visitors. China is the world’s largest outbound travel market and is one of the key overseas markets for Ireland.
