Merci! Liu Ye is flanked by his French wife Anais Martane and David Lisnard, mayor of Cannes, during his appointment as travel ambassador for the French Riviera. (Photo : David Lisnard/Facebook)
The French, particularly those in the Riviera, show that they're bent on attracting more Chinese to visit France.
What’s the proof?
They already assigned a Chinese celebrity to represent them.
Cannes Mayor David Lisnard, as president of the Riviera-Cote d'Azur Regional Tourism Committee, appointed Chinese actor Liu Ye as "Ambassador of Tourism of the Riviera in China" in late March in a ceremony held at the InterContinental Carlton Cannes Hotel at the Promenade de la Croisette in Cannes, France, according to the mayor’s website.
Located at southeastern France, the French Riviera (Cote d'Azur) is a popular holiday destination in the Mediterranean coast.
During his speech, Mayor Lisnard described Liu as very influential.
The mayor also said in his speech that the French Riviera will benefit from the support that China will give.
He informed everyone in attendance that the French Riviera catered to 116,000 Chinese tourists in 2015 and said that there was a 2-percent increase in their number.
The award-winning actor (“The Foliage,” “Lan Yu”) turned 38 last month.
Liu starred in Dai Sijie’s 2016 rom-com, “Le Paon de Nuit” (“The Night Peacock”), a Chinese-French co-production shot in Chengdu and Paris.
He and Nice-born Anais Martane got married in 2009 and now raise two children.
Martane moved to Beijing in 2001 and established a career in photography, according to WideWalls.
Aéroport Nice Cote d'Azur (Nice Cote d'Azur Airport) and Club Fly2Cote d’Azur entered into a partnership that will help bring more Chinese to the French Riviera, according to Mayor Lisnard’s website.
Riviera Insider said that direct flights from southeastern France to China are limited. It further said that airlines should create “direct flights from Nice Airport to China.”
The media company also noted that many Chinese tourists would rather shop at the French Riviera than engage in beach-related activities, taking advantage of the fact that branded goods sold in the shops are 30 percent cheaper than in their country.
