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In-Brief

Winter group meetings to pump $20M into P.R. economy

Meet Puerto Rico President Milton Segarra (Credit: © Mauricio Pascual)

Meet Puerto Rico President Milton Segarra (Credit: © Mauricio Pascual)

Puerto Rico is preparing to welcome 71 groups that will be on the island in February and March to carry out their winter meetings, conventions and conferences that could translate into a $20 million direct benefit to the economy, Meet Puerto Rico President Milton Segarra said Wednesday.

“Puerto Rico continues to position itself as the ideal destination for meetings and conventions, especially during the winter months, our high season. This year we have several groups conducting their winter meetings on the island,” he said.

“Certainly our climate and the type of experiences we offer here as a destination are memorable and we should maximize that,” Segarra said, adding that the groups are expected to generate a total of 34,972 room nights in San Juan hotels.

When broken down, the meetings and conventions organizers said in February — the peak high season month — Puerto Rico will host 42 groups for a total of 13,466 room nights resulting in an economic impact of $8 million. Select groups holding their winter meetings here include: Council of Landscape Architectural BOD Meeting, Young Democrats of America, Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel Meeting and the American Board of Optician and Contact Lens Examiners.

March will close with 29 groups for an estimated 21,506 room nights and an impact on the local economy of $12 million overall. Groups include the Associated General Contractors of America 96th Annual Convention, the 4th Sales Convention of Telefónica SA, the Oregon Academy of General Dentistry Meeting, and the Yale University-School of Medicine Staff Training.

Segarra said the experiences these groups take away from their visit to Puerto Rico are vital to the ongoing positioning of the destination.

“One of the trends that continues to remain true is that this segment, the meetings and conventions delegate, wants to experience the destination beyond the meeting room. Delegates attend conferences and conventions for business purposes, but they also want to come away knowing they’ve really been somewhere different,” he said.

In Puerto Rico, one in four rooms occupied in hotels that can accommodate large-scale meetings belongs to the groups and conventions segment, Meet Puerto Rico said.

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This story was written by our staff based on a press release.
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