Hong Kong banks on influencer Khaby Lame’s global fame to boost tourist numbers

The Hong Kong Tourism Board has leveraged the fame of hundreds of influencers, including Khaby Lame or “Speechless Brother”, the most-followed creator on short-video platform TikTok, to attract more tourists to the city.

The board announced on Tuesday that the visit of the Senegalese-Italian had “allowed his global fans to see a different side of Hong Kong”.

Lame’s visit formed part of a wider campaign aimed at boosting the city’s appeal to international travellers.

According to the HKTB, more than 440 key opinion leaders were invited to visit Hong Kong this year, with a combined following of up to 440 million people.

The board said it organised a variety of themed and customised experiences for the influencers, highlighting aspects such as mega-events, Chinese and Western art, popular culture, traditional festivals, fine wines and cuisine, and countryside exploration.

“Through their sharing, we hope it can generate positive word of mouth and we hope to leverage their influence to attract more tourists to Hong Kong,” the board said.