SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, May 12, 2016 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — With more than 60 groups and conventions visiting Puerto Rico during the months of March and April, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC) remains confident that with a robust information and education campaign about Zika, tourism, Puerto Rico’s economic engine, will be resilient. Although there have been some future group cancellations over the next two years the PRTC is anticipating that the tide will be stemmed, banking on educated consumers.
Photo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160512/366968
“Accurate information about Zika is the key to making educated decisions about visiting Puerto Rico,” said Ingrid I. Rivera Rocafort, Executive Director, PRTC. “We have an obligation to provide the real facts about the virus and trust that travelers will not let perceptions drive travel decisions. Once they put it into perspective, we feel certain that Puerto Rico will continue to attract visitors from around the world who will enjoy a worry-free experience”.
Thousands of doctors, hundreds of marketers, dozens of CEOs, and other groups including nurses, meteorologists and sports enthusiasts hit the island for both business and leisure over the last eight weeks.
“[W]e found the precautions were no different than what we would do anywhere else under normal circumstances,” said Dr. Larry W. Anderson, DO, FACOFP dist, who recently attended the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians Spring Convention in San Juan. “[T]he city of San Juan and the hotels and the restaurants have been very intentional of making sure that there is no place for mosquitos to hatch, to lay eggs, or to breed. And we’ve found it very pleasant.”
Don Welsh, President and CEO, Destination Marketing Association International commented, “On behalf of our industry association, I would say that we were extremely pleased with the experience here in San Juan…and we look forward to coming back, if not with this meeting with another meeting, and we’ll come back also as tourists.”
The PRTC has launched an educational website PuertoRicoNow.SeePuertoRico.com to arm travelers with the most current information about Zika and Puerto Rico, so they are better able to decipher reality from perception, make fact-based travel plans and choose Puerto Rico as their go-to destination.
