Bangkok, 23 September, 2015 – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) teamed up with Thai Airways International to welcome two well-known Hong Kong SAR movie stars Michelle Yim (嚴惠玲) and Simon Yam (任達華) to Bangkok to pay respect at the Erawan Shrine in Ratchaprasong area on 22 September, 2015, as part of a campaign to restore visitor confidence.
Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, Governor of TAT said, “We are working across all major source markets worldwide to get the word out that Thailand is the destination for visitors. Hong Kong SAR is a very important short-haul, high-spending source of visitors. We are pleased to have received the support of well-known Hong Kong celebrities who are themselves regular visitors to Thailand to back our recovery campaign.”
Michelle Yim, also known by her Chinese stage name Mai Suet (米雪), is famous for her character role in popular Hong Kong TV series; such as, The Legend of the Condor Heroes, Tai Chi Master, The Legendary Fok and Princess Cheung Ping. She also earned the title of the “Princess of the Wuxia” drama.
For her popular villain role in the acclaimed 2008 TVB drama, ‘Moonlight Resonance’, she won Best Actress at the TVB Anniversary Awards 2008, Guangzhou TV Awards 2009 and also at the Asian Television Awards 2009. She is the first Hong Kong television actress to sweep three Best Actress awards from a single role across the Asia-Pacific, and also the first Hong Kong actress to win Best Actress at the prestigious Asian Television Awards.
Simon Yam or (Yam Tat-wah) is a veteran Hong Kong-based actor and film producer who loves and likes Thailand. He received international acclaim for his performances in international film festival hits and box offices; such as, Naked Killer, SPL (aka Kill Zone), Election, Election 2 (aka Triad Election), Exiled, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life and The Thieves.
TAT has also invited other Hong Kong SAR celebrities to visit Bangkok; such as, Michael Lam is well known for his writings about food and also locally known as a Young God of Eating. Derek Li, a TV presenter and MC, designer and a fashion model and Roger Wu, a travel writer and tourism presenter for the TV series the Thailand Iron Chef.
Hong Kong SAR is one of Thailand’s main Asian source markets. In January – July 2015, Hong Kong SAR arrivals totalled 417,224, up by 87.41% over the same period of 2014 and generating an estimated 14.92 billion Baht in tourism revenue, up by 101.76 %.