Running Man is in Australia!

Running Man is in Australia! 

Some of Australia’s most stunning scenery and iconic landmarks are providing the backdrop to one of Korea’s most popular TV shows, in a new bid by Tourism Australia to entice more Korean visitors Down Under.

Picture is sourced from: Runningmanepisodes.com

Korean reality-comedy series Running Man has just completed filming in Queensland and Victoria, with the first Australian episode starring Tangalooma Resort, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and Palm Beach airing this week on Korean television screens.

Tourism Australia Acting Managing Director Frances-Anne Keeler said Running Man’s famous celebrity contestants will showcase some of Australia’s best tourism attractions to a large audience of potential Asian travellers.

“Running Man is a hugely popular show in Korea, as well as throughout Asia – in China, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and more. With such exposure to so many of our key Asian markets, the show presents an ideal opportunity to showcase some of Australia’s top destinations and tourism attractions through the eyes of well-known celebrities,” Ms Keeler said.

“We had to try and keep the exact filming schedule under wraps due to the intense level of interest from K-pop fans and the Asian community here in Australia. It’s a hilarious show and it gives fans of Running Man a fresh new way to see Australia. The interest within Korea has been phenomenal, with the filming of the shows in Australia already generating more than 400 articles across Korean media,” she said.

Source: www.facebook.com/runningmantvshow

This week, fans of Running Man watched contestants compete in Kangaroo suits at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and take a helicopter ride over the Gold Coast. Melbourne’s laneways and surrounds are set to feature as the backdrop for the next episode.

Running Man is the latest project by Tourism Australia enlisting the support of Asian celebrities to promote Australia’s best tourism destinations to Asian consumers, with popular Chinese celebrities Nicky Wu and Ekin Cheng both filming projects in Australia in 2013 and the top rating Japanese celebrity travel show, Tabi Salada, filming an Australian special earlier this month.

Tourism Australia has partnered with Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS), Tourism Victoria and Tourism & Events Queensland on the filming of two episodes of the series which airs in South Korea in March, followed by China, Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia.

South Korea is Australia’s ninth ranked inbound international tourism market by volume, with 193,000 visitors travelling to Australia from South Korea in 2013, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures.

Visitors from South Korea generated A$1.2 billion in total expenditure in 2012. Tourism Australia estimates that the market has the potential to grow to between A$2.8 billion and A$3.4 billion in total expenditure by 2020.

Wilson Ng