Reality show wraps up New Zealand segment

Celebrity fathers and their children enjoyed the beauty of New Zealand. Photo provided to China Daily

One of China’s most popular reality shows, Dad, Where Are We Going?, recently finished its three-day filming in New Zealand, making the country the only international destination featured in the show.

Chinese audiences will be able to enjoy 200 minutes of New Zealand’s magnificent landscapes, hospitable people and colorful activities in the show’s last two episodes of the show’s second season on Sept 26 and Oct 3.

The show features five celebrity fathers — actors Huang Lei and Lu Yi, Olympic champion Yang Wei, singer Gary Cao from Taiwan and Hong Kong actor Francis Ng Chun-yu — and their children, aged 3 to 7 years. Two other Chinese actors, Huang Bo and Tong Dawei, are secret guests in the New Zealand episodes.

Kevin Bowler, chief executive of Tourism New Zealand, said the show will make New Zealand one of the most talked-about overseas destinations in China this year. The bureau targets both independent and group tours, as the show helps promote the country as a destination.

According to Jodi Williams, head of global brand development for Air New Zealand, the reach of coverage via the show itself and social media channels is priceless.

He said others’ tour experiences affect those who are making their travel decisions. When this comes from celebrities, the influence is even stronger.

China is New Zealand’s second-largest visitor market, with 243,472 arrivals so far this year through the end of July.

It is not the first time Tourism New Zealand and Air New Zealand hit the media headlines with the visit of an A-listed Chinese celebrity. In 2012, actress Yao Chen, Tourism New Zealand’s brand ambassador in China at the time, chose to marry in Queenstown, and her microblogs about the wedding and the country’s scenery drew much public attention.