• by Tanya Gazdik , June 3, 2015

Nickelodeon’s Dora character will once again be featured in efforts to promote New York City as a family-friendly destination. It is the city’s first-ever bilingual tourism effort.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYC & Company, the city’s marketing, tourism and partnership organization, announced that Dora is returning as the seventh Official NYC Family Ambassador. She previously was used in the 2010 campaign. Other characters featured have included Curious George in 2014, Where’s Waldo? in 2013, The Muppets in 2012, The Smurfs in 2011 and Sesame Street in 2009.

The announcement was made in Orlando, Fla. during International Pow Wow (more commonly known as IPW), a travel industry conference.

During the yearlong campaign, Dora will encourage family travel to the city’s five boroughs. It will include English and Spanish content that features activities and destinations geared toward families.

An estimated 17.2 million family visitors came to the NYC area in 2014, a 3% increase over 2013, contributing approximately $17.8 billion in direct spending to the city's economy. In 2013, Spanish was the first language of approximately 14% of domestic family travelers. Since the launch of the Family Ambassador program in 2009, family visits to New York City have grown by 30.3% and is currently 30.5% of total visitation to NYC.

The campaign includes out-of-home media in the five boroughs and in Buffalo through NYC & Company’s new city-to-city tourism partnership; social media engagement using the hashtag #nycgofamily; TV commercials running in NYC taxicabs; and digital media targeting the City’s top regional, domestic and Spanish-speaking markets. Additionally, NYC & Company is asking its 2,000 members, city residents and visitors to share family-friendly NYC activities using the hashtag #nycgofamily.

An “Explore NYC with Dora” activity book will be available for families at a selection of hotels and cultural organizations later this summer. The booklet includes NYC-themed activities, facts and interactive elements.