Portugal to use Ronaldo's image to attract Chinese tourists

Portuguese government will use world famous football star Cristiano Ronaldo's image in a campaign to promote Portuguese tourism in China in 2015 after the Portuguese government paid 150,000 euros ($150,922) for the rights to use his image, according to local press reports.

"We reached an agreement for the image rights of Cristiano Ronaldo for the next 12 months, to promote Portugal in the Chinese market," the Secretary of State for Tourism, Adolfo Mesquita Nunes told the Portuguese news agency Lusa on the sidelines of a Culture and Tourism meeting in the Algarve region, 300 km south of Lisbon.

According to Mesquita Nunes, Chinese tourism in Portugal has posted "growth of 30 percent. It is a market with very large percentage growth, but absolute figures are still lacking."

He added that China was expected to become the world's largest source of tourists, but that Portugal was little known amongst Chinese citizens, hence the use of Cristiano Ronaldo, who is currently Portugal's most famous international celebrity, to attract Chinese tourists.

Mesquita Nunes said the campaign would be launched in November at the Shanghai Tourism Fair.