Puerto Rico Meetings Campaign Offers Incentives for Planners
Meet Puerto Rico, the new name for the former Puerto Rico Convention Bureau, launched a promotion called "Escape the Meeting Blah" to reward meetings and incentive planners who book groups at member hotels and resorts through May 30.
The promotion dovetails with a broader branding campaign introduced in January titled "On a tropical island. In the Caribbean," which touts the benefits of hosting a meeting or convention in Puerto Rico.
"We know that Puerto Rico hits the mark when it comes to airlift, top accommodations, great activities, fine dining and sophisticated meeting and event spaces, but a lot of other places do too," said Milton Segarra, the group's president and CEO. "What gives us a competitive advantage is that Puerto Rico is a tropical island in the Caribbean, and no passport is needed."
In addition to its tropical location, Segarra is pushing the island's history, culture, cuisine and variety of activities. The goal, he said, is to make Puerto Rico the top preferred meetings destination in the world.
"The true value of holding a meeting in Puerto Rico is bringing all of these elements together to create a singular, distinctive experience for our delegates and visitors," he said.
Incentives in the Escape the Meeting Blah promotion include $15 per room night for meetings planners if the contract is signed during the promotion period. Also, planners will be entered into a drawing to win one of five prepaid $5,000 gift cards.
An extra incentive is that meetings planners with confirmed bookings of 500 room nights or more are eligible for a trip to Puerto Rico.
The promotion includes a built-in charitable donation to the Ricky Martin Foundation, which advocates for the well-being of children in areas such as education, health and social justice.
"Planners today want to provide experiential trips and work with a destination that is active in corporate and social responsibility," Segarra said.
The CEO is no stranger to Puerto Rico's tourism sector. In the past, he served as executive director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Co. and secretary of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce. He has also held top management posts with Hilton and Hyatt.
Since being named head of Meet Puerto Rico in May, Segarra has overseen a top-to-bottom restructuring of the organization, incorporating feedback from a survey of meetings planners late last year.
"They want authentic culture, real experiences, variety in pre- and post-conference options and activities for their clients who are traveling with families," he said. "They don't have time to deal with an organization that complicates the logistics of planning a meeting."
The economic impact of the meetings business in Puerto Rico is more than $105 million a year, Segarra said.
"As of now, we have booked close to 190,000 room nights for meetings," he said. "We are on target to exceed 2013's numbers."
Source: Travel Weekly
