ONE Times Square, an important tourist site that attracts 50 million visitors a year in New York, stopped on Friday to watch the launch of the wax figure of the Portuguese footballer, in a partnership between the Madame Tussauds Museum and VisitPortugal, the official website of tourist promotion developed by Turismo de Portugal.

In addition to the wax figure, the characteristic giant ‘billboards’ of Times Square were filled over the course of an hour with messages from Cristiano Ronaldo and videos of the Portuguese natural and historical heritage.

Regarding this large investment – over four million euros – in the North American market between 2022 and 2023, the president of Turismo de Portugal, Luis Araújo, said that the amount is justified by the fact that this is already the “fourth market to level of income and the fifth market in terms of overnight stays”.

“This market has been a revelation. We managed to grow over the last five years – obviously taking the pandemic years apart – and today what we see is that this is already the fourth market in terms of revenue and the fifth market in terms of overnight stays. Therefore, we are managing to gain scale in the American market. Just to give you an idea, we have today, until 2022, twice what we had in 2019 in terms of revenue”, he said.

“And this is proof, first, that air connectivity is essential and we are succeeding in making that connection. Secondly, that there is a lot of interest from the American tourist and, obviously, thirdly, what we always say: that our ‘brand Portugal’ value proposition, as a destination for Americans, has its impact”, said Luis Araújo to the Portuguese press in Times Square.

Still on investment, Araújo pointed out that these approximately four million euros are reflected “in the almost 1.8 million euros of revenue that Portugal has from the point of view of tourism in the North American market”.

Between January and September of this year, tourist revenues from the United States market increased by 48% compared to the same period in 2019, according to data from the national tourism authority.

And if in 2017 Turismo de Portugal’s strategy involved market diversification, largely due to dependence on European markets which reached 60%, today, thanks to the diversification achieved with markets such as the United States, Asia, Brazil, or Canada, ” this trend was reduced to very close to 50%”, explained Araújo.

“This is the result of this bet on product diversification. When we present Portugal as a country that bets on contemporary art and architecture, literature, art and that shows all of this in a different way and that promotes a country that can be visited all year round, throughout the territory, we are also attracting people who spend more and who consume more”, assisted.

And he concluded: “This is our main objective and also a practice of sustainability. It is we bring people who stay longer, who run the territory and who spend more in that territory”.

With the most ‘Close to US’, this new campaign expects to reach a universe of approximately 500 million people worldwide, according to the organization’s figures, which are reinforced by the fact that in the United States Thanksgiving is celebrated this week ( Thanksgiving Day), followed by the famous ‘Black Friday’ and ‘Cyber ​​​​Monday’, a period when North Americans take the opportunity to book vacations and travel.

For 2023, and with the aim of taking advantage of the growth trend registered in the current year, Turismo de Portugal’s plan is to invest in its presence on business platforms, namely at fairs, actions with luxury tourism operators, ‘road shows’, ‘workshops’ and joint campaigns with tour operators and airlines.

After the event in Times Square, the wax figure of Cristiano Ronaldo was moved to the Madame Tussauds Museum in the city, where they remained in an interactive space dedicated to the Portuguese athlete: ‘The CR7 Experience’.

During the next 15 days, visitors to the Museum will be welcomed with videos about Portugal on the institution’s screens.

“This was an opportunity that we thought about for a long time, that we thought would make a lot of sense and we made a proposal. Obviously, things take a long time to be approved, but in the end they will participate in the efforts”, the head of marketing at the Madame Tussauds of New York, Tiago Mogadouro.

“I believe it is essential to have two very important brands for the country, together, promoting our destination, which is Portugal, which is a beautiful country and where more and more Americans go,” he added.

Regarding the process of making the wax figure, Tiago Mogadouro explained that it was very long, that it lasted over nine months, and that it borders on the involvement of Cristiano Ronaldo himself.

“There are more than 200 people involved in the process. Everything you see is done by hand, with processes that go back more than 250 years, from sculpting, to painting, to inserting the hair and everything in between. Cristiano enters a phase final in which he approved the figure, in which he saw it, and in which he said: ‘it’s the same’. And that for us was a source of great pride. And then, as a last resort, he participated with us in this unique launch in Times Square, so virtual”, highlighted the Portuguese.

Starting today, all visitors to the museum will be able to enjoy ‘The CR7 Experience’.

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