VisitPortugal & Cristiano Ronaldo Take Over Times Square

LISBON, Portugal, Nov. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- VisitPortugal initiated a strong plan to promote the destination in the North American market, associating itself with the launch event of the most recent wax figure of Cristiano Ronaldo at the Madame Tussauds Museum in New York City, through a "take over" of the digital billboards of Times Square. After revealing the wax figure of Cristiano Ronaldo, VisitPortugal gave each of the jumbotrons to the Portuguese people for an hour, to show the world the best the country has to offer, its people and its natural and historical heritage and also to send a message from Portugal to the world about the importance of Travelling Better.

With the motto "Close to US", VisitPortugal intends to promote the diversity of the tourism offer in Portugal and its regions, that which has the most impact on the American public. From nature to history, from waves to heritage, from cities to villages, from countryside to islands, all are reasons to choose Portugal as the destination of your next trip.

This is a unique brand activation in the US with an expected catalytic effect, expected to reach approximately 500 million people worldwide. In a period of high opportunity: the week of Thanksgiving and that precedes Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which are characterized by opportunities for booking future trips for Americans.

Cristiano Ronaldo's wax figure will be at Madame Tussauds from November 21, 2022, in a space dedicated to the Portuguese athlete called: The CR7 Experience. In parallel, for 15 days, the public visiting the Madame Tussauds Museum will be impacted with films about Portugal.

"Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most accomplished football icons of our time and we were thrilled to be team up with Visit Portugal for this special Time Square reveal; it's an incredible opportunity to shine a light on the beautiful country and holiday destination of Portugal," said Madame Tussauds New York Head of Marketing Tiago Mogadouro.

Madame Tussauds New York partnered with the Times Square Alliance, NYC & Company, as well as the Portuguese Football Federation and VisitPortugal for this iconic and memorable figure reveal.

The United States proved to be one of the most relevant tourist markets for Portugal, registering growths in the number of guests, overnight stays and revenues, of 18.8%, 19.5% and 45.0%, respectively, until August 2022 in comparison with the same period of 2019.

Portugal's promotion plan in the US intends to reinforce promotional activity in 2022 and 2023 with the objective of accelerating the growth of this market, including presence on business platforms, namely at tradeshows, actions with luxury tourism operators, road shows and workshops.

For the President of VisitPortugal, Luís Araújo, "the support for this event reflects the commitment to a growing market and the conviction that Portugal is increasingly close to the US and offers many reasons to be the travel choice for Americans."

It is important to remember that in 2018, also in Times Square, VisitPortugal carried out a brand activation, showing Portugal as a Surf destination and focusing on Portuguese waves, highlighting the giant wave of Nazaré, the biggest wave surfed in the world, an action which impacted around 300 million people.

ABOUT VISITPORTUGAL: Integrated in the Ministry of Economy and Sea, VisitPortugal is the Nation Brand for Portugal and is developed by Turismo de Portugal I.P.

More information at www.visitportugal.com

ABOUT MADAME TUSSAUDS NEW YORK: Voted as one of New York's most unique attractions, Madame Tussauds invites you to pose "in a moment in time" with our famous fun figures of internationally renowned musicians, A-list stars, sports legends, world leaders and more. New for 2022, step onto the red carpet with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Bad Bunny. Plus, Madame Tussauds New York's Glow Gala is packed with 19 celebrities including new and never-before-seen wax figures of Ariana Grande and P. Diddy. With more than 85,000 square feet of interactive entertainment, including the expanded MARVEL Hall of Heroes, and the new Oval Office Experience, the world-famous attraction is bigger and better than ever! For more information, visit the website at madametussauds.com/new-york/ and on Facebook.

ABOUT MERLIN ENTERTAINMENTS: Merlin Entertainments is a global leader in location-based, family entertainment. As Europe's number one and the world's second-largest visitor attraction operator, Merlin operates more than 140 attractions, 23 hotels and 6 holiday villages in 24 countries across 4 continents. Merlin's purpose is to deliver memorable experiences to its millions of guests around the world, through its iconic brands and multiple attraction formats, and the commitment and passion of its employees.

See www.merlinentertainments.biz for more information and follow on Twitter @MerlinEntsNew

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