The Puerto Rico Hotel and Tourism Association on Wednesday announced the appointment of veteran hotelier Raúl Bustamante, general manager of the Conrad Condado Plaza, as the new chairman of its marketing committee.
The committee serves as a forum for discussion, development and implementation of action plans to improve the ability to market Puerto Rico as a tourist destination. The marketing committee’s initiatives are designed to benefit PRHTA members and it has a say in the Tourism Company, the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau, and the Convention Center.
Bustamante has been a part of the hospitality industry for the better part of 30 years. During that time, he has been a member of the PRHTA’s board of directors, chairman of the Convention Bureau’s board, during which he was instrumental in developing marketing strategies for the Convention Center. He has also chaired the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce’s tourism committee and served as vice-chair of the Tourism Co’s board until April 2006.
“We’re confident in the achievements that he will continue to reap to develop mechanisms to promote Puerto Rico as the best tourist destination in the Caribbean,” PRHTA President Ismael Vega said Wednesday.
The PRHTA represents Puerto Rico’s private tourism sector, with some 580 corporate members, including hotels, restaurants, airlines and other tourism-related businesses on the island.
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.
“In an economic context where Puerto Rico is experiencing a clear slowdown and where key sectors like construction are struggling to find workers, cutting the [Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)] will discourage participation in the formal economy and hinder our economic growth.
In an environment where federal funds are decreasing, adding local austerity through EITC cuts could not only cause our labor force participation rate to drop again, but also force local businesses to absorb much of the reduction if they want to maintain the current incentives for formal employment and prevent part of their workforce from returning to the informal sector.”
— Daniel Santamaría-Ots, co-executive director, Espacios Abiertos