Puerto Rico Convention Center Opens for Business

The Puerto Rico Convention Center, a $415 million facility located in San Juan, Puerto Rico, opened its doors for business last week. The opening was marked by a ribbon-cutting ceremony that kicked off three days of activities and special events for invited guests and VIPs at the Center, in and around San Juan.

The all-new Puerto Rico Convention Center was conceived by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as a way of broadening the Island´s successful tourism industry with increased group and business travel.

The 580,000 square-foot center is the largest facility of its kind in the Caribbean and the most technologically-advanced in the Caribbean and Latin America.

With the ability to host groups of up to 10,000 delegates, the Puerto Rico Convention Center allows the Island to compete not only in the convention markets of the Americas, but also in the international market, creating a singular destination for conventions, trade shows, consumer shows and congresses that will place Puerto Rico at the forefront of world-class meeting destinations.

“Meeting in Puerto Rico will never be the same,” stated Ana Maria Viscasillas, president & CEO of the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau. “The opening of the Puerto Rico Convention Center represents a new era in our tourism history, as we now have the capacity to host large-scale meetings in one of the most modern and visually-splendid facilities in the world.”

Currently the new Puerto Rico Convention Center has more than 70 events scheduled to take place between November 2005 and 2008. It is anticipated that the Center will generate over $300 million annually for Puerto Rico´s local economy.