Discover Puerto Rico wraps up ’18 with presentations in Spain, Colombia, U.S.
The last weeks of 2018 have been very active for Discover Puerto Rico, developing multiple efforts to promote the island in Europe, Latin America and the United States, the nonprofit confirmed.
Recently, Discover Puerto Rico executives along with representatives of several local hotels, participated in an event in Barcelona, Spain, where they presented the destination to a select group of planners and key people in the travel industry.
The event was held in PANGEA, the main travel agency in Barcelona, which offers an innovative concept by combining its services with a travel effects store and a modern bar/restaurant. As part of those efforts, the Puerto Rican delegation met with a variety of Catalan bloggers and influencers.
“In this event we had the opportunity to share with an important group of people who looks for luxurious experiences. This allowed us to present our newly renovated Premium Hotels, as well as the best of our cuisine and culture. The presentation was very well received, and we are confident that it will result in visits to Puerto Rico,” said Brad Dean, CEO of Discover Puerto Rico.
One of the purposes of these delegations is to grow the international market, he said.
“Currently 90 percent of the visitors we receive come from the United States, so we must aspire to have a greater presence in other markets, where they see us as an attractive destination to vacation and visit,” he added.
Another Discover Puerto Rico delegation visited Bogotá, Colombia as part of the DPR efforts to resume business relationships with strategic partners and explore opportunities to strengthen the promotion of the destination.
Dean stressed that among Colombians and Puerto Ricans there are many similarities such as the love for music, their human warmth and cheerful personality, which is an incentive for more Colombians to visit the island.
On this occasion, they met with representatives from Avianca and Copa Airlines, as well as the “Semana” magazine and newspaper “El Tiempo,” as well as with tourism industry entrepreneurs.
“In recent months we have met with representatives of relevant markets for Puerto Rico. In the United States, we have visited several markets that traditionally see Puerto Rico as an option to vacation. Likewise, we have gone to markets with large concentrations of Puerto Ricans, who, although they live in the diaspora, do not forget their roots and long to spend Christmas in Puerto Rico,” Dean said.
#CoverTheProgress campaign nabs award
In related news, the #CoverTheProgress campaign that highlighted the community of Punta Santiago in Humacao as an example of how tourist attractions in Puerto Rico have recovered after the passage of Hurricane María won another award of public relations in the category of “Best Crisis Management” in the 2019 Innovation SABRE Awards.
The campaign was developed to invite local and international media and the public to share images of the recovery during the anniversary of the hurricane’s passage. #CoverTheProgress is an earned media campaign and obtained 930 million impressions of media worldwide through social networks. The video produced for the campaign was also broadcasted by local and international television.
