DMO confirms double-digit growth in meetings, events from Jan. to Sept.

Destination Marketing Organization Discover Puerto Rico revealed that the island’s meeting and events strategy is “putting Puerto Rico back on the map as a preferred destination for the industry.”

From January to September 2019, confirmed events for future years reached 197, almost twice as many than those booked in 2018, when 103 events took place.

In terms of room nights confirmed, a total of 101,704 were registered, almost two times more than the 53,022 on record for 2018. This represents an increase of 48%, which has an economic impact year-to-date of $87.4 million vs. $45.6 million from the period of January to September 2018.

“Puerto Rico is a prime destination for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions, with the ease we provide in doing business as a U.S. destination and the allure of a Caribbean island with a unique history and culture,” said Brad Dean, CEO of Discover Puerto Rico.

“We are committed to taking the existing pipeline of sales prospects and inject strong interest to propel Puerto Rico as a leading destination in the Meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions [MICE] industry. Our sales team is targeting close to a 30% increase in MICE sales year over year.”

The MICE industry is a type of tourism in which large groups, usually planned well in advance, are brought together, according to a standard definition.

Dean said the trend remains positive in the events segment during the third quarter, with 58 confirmed events (up 72% versus 2018 with 16 events), which represents a total of 28,152 room nights confirmed (up 80% versus 2018 with 5,696).

This generates $24.2 million, an 80% increase over the $4.9 million during the same period in 2018.

Discover Puerto Rico is working with an active pipeline of with 421 leads, representing 337,630 requested room nights that have the potential to contribute $290.3 million to the island’s economy, the organization said.

Discover Puerto Rico will keep its momentum with presence in approximately 30 events, conferences and conventions including IMEX America, Brand USA Travel Week, and Destination Caribbean, among others.

Also, Puerto Rico is preparing to be the host destination for the upcoming World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) 2020 Global Summit in April 21-23, 2020, the most important event for the international travel and tourism sector which expects to attract approximately 2,000 attendees and 150 to 200 international journalists to Puerto Rico, the DMO confirmed.