Discover Puerto Rico Doubles Down on Positive Messages

Author: Convene Editors       

Puerto Rico

Discover Puerto Rico is letting its tourism and other partners know that despite political turmoil, the island and its tourism industry, including Juan Diego Falls at El Yunque Rainforest, are open for business.

Following the July 24 resignation announcement of Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló, Discover Puerto Rico is reassuring the tourism and events industries, as well as potential visitors, that the island is open for business.

In an email sent to its tourism and business events industry partners, Discover Puerto Rico underscored that the resignation should not have a negative effect on tourism and business travel to the island. The DMO wrote, “As you know, we are a non-profit, non-governmental organization created through bi-partisan legislation to grow tourism on the island and ensure there is continuity in the future of tourism, despite political changes. Tourism plays an integral role in strengthening the economy and creating jobs, and the mission of the DMO does not change despite political shifts.”

Rosselló’s resignation, effective Aug. 2, comes after two weeks of protests calling for his ouster over a scandal involving leaked private chats, corruption investigations, and arrests. No future protests are scheduled, Discover Puerto Rico says in a travel advisory on its website, encouraging potential visitors it is safe to come to the island.

The email to its industry partners reiterated that notion: “We are encouraged by the accounts of many travelers who arrived on the island during the last two weeks to enjoy the island’s gastronomy, attractions and cultural offerings, and we are continuing to welcome new travelers each day.” In the email, the DMO asked its partners for assistance in spreading the word about the island’s stability and its strides toward economic recovery and creating jobs, which is largely dependent on visitors to the island. According to the email, 83,000 hospitality employees are “working every day to ensure visitors have a positive experience.”

The island’s tourism economy, which welcomes 4 million visitors each year according to the email, is back on its feet after the devastation of Hurricane Maria in 2017.

“Tourism is on track to achieve a record-breaking year in 2019,” Visit Puerto Rico told its partners in its email.

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