New York City is tapping a popular Latino children’s icon for its first bilingual tourism campaign.
Nickelodeon’s Dora the Explorer will be the city’s Family Ambassador, responsible for encouraging families to visit each of New York City’s five boroughs by highlighting the beauty and suitability of the city for families.
This is the first in their seven years that the Family Ambassador program will offer information in both English and Spanish on activities for families to enjoy, announced New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, NYC & Company and Nickelodeon at an event in Orlando on June 2nd.
As part of the campaign, an activity book entitled “Exploring the City of New York with Dora” will be released for families in select hotels and summer cultural organizations.
"New York City offers countless attractions, so there is no one more qualified to Dora and her friends to help encourage children worldwide and their families to visit and explore the greatest city on the planet.” said Pam Kaufman, CMO and President of Nickelodeon's consumer products group
Throughout the past five years, the number of families who have visited New York City has increased by more than 30 percent; in 2014, over 17 million tourists came to the Big Apple. Fourteen percent of tourist families who visited New York City identified Spanish as their first language.
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Dora the Explorer was chosen because she has transcended social, racial and linguistic barriers and is one of the most relatable children’s characters around the world. More than 100 million people watch Dora the Explorer which is broadcast across more than 150 countries.
Dora is the seventh family ambassador encouraging a visit to New York as a family destination. Previous ambassadors have included Curious George, Where’s Waldo, The Muppets, The Smurfs, and Sesame Street.