YouTube star brings 'happy dance' to Kingdom
YouTube celebrity Dancing Matt has come to Thailand to lend his famous dancing skills to a tourismpromotion campaign.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Visa (Thailand) invited Matthew Harding, aka Dancing Matt, to lure foreign travellers under the “Go Thailand: All that is missing is you” campaign.
Harding has become famous for the funny, exuberant dances he performs with local people at wellknown sightseeing spots around the world. Posted on YouTube, his dancing clips have been watched by millions of people worldwide. At least one registered more than 40 million views.
Yesterday, Harding recorded his “happy dance” at Phuket Golf Club Resort and Spa’s Blue Canyon Golf Course – Mission Hill in Thalang district of Phuket.
The TAT said Harding was invited to act as a presenter to promote tourism in Thailand following the great flooding that ravaged several provinces and Bangkok.
Harding said he thought Thailand was a beautiful country, adding that he loved the local hospitality and was very happy to be part of the campaign.
Earlier yesterday, Harding drew the attention of many foreign tourists when he recorded promotional clips at Kata and Karon beaches. During the recording sessions, he was approached by several tourists wanting to know if he was the celebrated “Dancing Matt” they had seen on the Internet.
Before travelling to Phuket, Harding visited Ayutthaya and Bangkok on Tuesday and Wednesday to record promotional clips.
On Tuesday morning, he visited Ayutthaya’s Ayothaya Market before heading to Bangkok to record another at Siam Paragon. The evening found him in Chinatown for another shoot.
Harding shot more clips at Bangkok City Hall, the Giant Swing and Khao San Road on Wednesday before moving on to Suvarnabhumi International Airport in the afternoon.
Harding is often cited as an example of an ordinary person turned into a global celebrity via Internetbased social networks. He started out simply recording videos and posting them on YouTube for his family to watch.
But many people fell in love with his simple but happy style of dancing and monitored his travels, turning him into a YouTube celebrity.
