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Meet PR locks down 3 events worth $23.4M for economy

Meet Puerto Rico President Milton Segarra

Meet Puerto Rico, the organization in charge of promoting the island in the groups and conventions market, has locked down three major conventions this year, which should “contribute to reversing the downward trend” the sector experienced in 2016.

Meet Puerto Rico President Milton Segarra said the goal is to gain ground against damage done by global news about the Zika virus spread on the island as well as the central government’s fiscal crisis.

“At the end of a complicated year for the industry and facing a 2017 full of challenges and opportunities, the expertise and focus of Meet Puerto Rico’s team, with the absolute support of our partners, secured the closure of groups in three strategic sectors, which will have a significant impact on the economy and set a hopeful trend for the coming months,” said Segarra.

The executive mentioned that in addition to the ICANN Annual Meeting scheduled for early 2018 at the Puerto Rico Convention Center, two sports and entertainment events were confirmed for the island in 2017.

It is estimated that these three combined events will inject $23.4 million to the local economy and will ensure 26,797 room nights at local hotels over the next 18 months.

Specifically, Segarra said the entertainment event is promoted by Feyline, one of the largest producers of musical events in the United States, which will take place at El Conquistador Resort in Fajardo in late 2017.

“Our El Conquistador partners were instrumental in securing this important business for Puerto Rico, despite the strong competition from the Dominican Republic, which was also considered by Feyline for the event,” said Segarra.

Similarly, the sporting event with headquarters at the InterContinental Hotel, and possibly others in the Isla Verde area, will bring an influx of activity to the entire municipality of Carolina, he said.

Prospectively, Segarra added that a total of 450,000 nights/rooms for 2017 have been identified that are currently in the stage of tentative or high potential prospects for the destination.

“This is a great opportunity and together with our partners, we will be launching a very punctual and aggressive program of events, presentations, special press and communications and social networks this month, supported by a promotion of destiny to close a significant amount of this type of business for Puerto Rico,” he said.

“We are maximizing our capabilities as a DMO accredited since 2007 and taking advantage of our close collaboration with Meet Puerto Rico’s more than 300 partners to capture the attention of meeting planners, associations, corporations, and event producers, among others, to turn this opportunity into new business for Puerto Rico,” he said.

Author Details
Author Details
Business reporter with 30 years of experience writing for weekly and daily newspapers, as well as trade publications in Puerto Rico. My list of former employers includes Caribbean Business, The San Juan Star, and the Puerto Rico Daily Sun, among others. My areas of expertise include telecommunications, technology, retail, agriculture, tourism, banking and most other segments of Puerto Rico’s economy.
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