Tourism Vancouver is enlisting the help of some star power from China in a bid to attract visitors to the city.
Tao Guo and his two children spent last week visiting local attractions, such as Capilano Suspension Bridge Park and Grouse Mountain.
Videos of their visit will be shared in China.
"We're always looking for creative ways to build connections and communicate with our audience in China and we find that personalities offer a really interesting angle to do that," Tourism Vancouver CEO Ty Speer told CTV News.
"Our partner agency in China helped us find Mr. Guo and his family…We just thought they'd be a perfect fit to bring here for a winter experience."
Tao, a well-known actor, and his son, Patrick, appeared on a Chinese reality TV show featuring celebrity kids and their fathers. Each episode drew as many as 75 million viewers. The family also has millions of social media followers.
Now, Tourism Vancouver is hoping the Guos can help turn some of those eyes onto the city.
"That's a lot of people for us to potentially tap into and say, 'You can come experience that in Vancouver,'" Speer said.
The family has also been skiing and attended a Vancouver Canucks hockey game, where they were recognized by several fans.
"I'd never actually seen a hockey match before…This was my first time," Patrick said.
China is already Vancouver's second-largest international travel market after the United States.
And Tourism Vancouver says competition for those dollars is fierce.
"The whole world is marketing to the Chinese and the Chinese outbound traveller is the number one growing segment in the world," Speer said.
The campaign also comes at a time when China's government is encouraging increased participation in winter sports ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Speer said the partnership presents "an enormous opportunity" for Vancouver, which does not attract as many tourists in the winter.
"We're less known for all the opportunities we can offer people in the winter, but they're still amazing," he said.
And so far, the Guos have nothing but positive things to say about the city.
“I really like this city. I came here many years ago, and this time, I gained a deeper understanding of this place," Tao said through a translator.
"We watched hockey, played hockey. There were a lot of activities for students as well. There was a lot of shopping and fun things to do. We met up with some good friends from China. It really was a fun trip.”
With files from CTV Vancouver's Maria Weisgarber
