 Ana Maria Viscasillas, President & CEO, of the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau hosted a press luncheon in New York to publicize some recent achievements in marketing the Commonwealth as a Meetings Destination. Like most destinations, the global economic woes hurt Puerto Rico, "But we have done better than other Caribbean destinations. None of our construction has been halted or delayed," said Viscasillas.
The hotel construction includes not only the opening of the Sheraton Puerto Rico Convention Center Hotel & Casino last December, which added 500 rooms and 35,000 square feet of meeting space to the in the Puerto Rico Convention Center District, but other projects, such as a Courtyard by Marriot and aLoft Hotel, which are currently under-construction. "As important as the hotels are the fact the bureau has 300 member partners, so when a meeting planner books Puerto Rico for a convention, they know we have the transportation, the caterers, and the full range of services that will make their event a success," she said.
Viscasillas mentioned that in spite of the challenging economic times, the fiscal year ending in June, "will be our best year ever, especially for Group Travel." She added that 27 percent of the Group Travel Business was associated with a Convention Center Booking." The Puerto Rico Convention  Bureau is the Sales and Marketing arm for the Puerto Rico Convention Center.
"Puerto Rico is Not a Boon Doggle" the provocative name of a new promotion that features a website for with two sections: what a meeting planner can tell his or her boss and what a meeting planner can say a meeting attendee. The message of the campaign is that meetings in Puerto Rico are not only exotic, they are also convenient, efficient, affordable, and smooth. "Puerto Rico is not another country, just another world," she added.
In fact, Puerto Rico has become a not just an alternative to some U.S. destinations—travel to the  Island can be comparable time wise to travel to Florida for example—but it has also become an important destination for Latin America and globally. In today’s competitive meeting market, Puerto Rico Convention Bureau has become remarkably pro-active in promoting the destination’s attributes, which includes price, new developments, and accessibility – as well the tropical weather, natural attractions, new hotel and entertainment developments and remarkable Convention Center.
 The bureau recently was awarded another major event: the 43rd Congress of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. Puerto Rico was in competition with several other destinations. "We had the same air travel, lodging and meeting space but then we found out that 2011 was the International Year of the Chemist," said Viscasillas. "The United Nations was going to have a presentation and it turns out, it was easier to go from the U.N. Headquarters in New York City to Puerto Rico. We’re using everything we have to get conventions to our beautiful Convention Center."
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