Q & A with Marimar Lidin, Head of the Spain & Portugal Division at the Puerto Rico Tourism Company
Puerto Rico is nabbing some 30,000 Spanish tourists every year, a figure that backs up the existence of four weekly flights operated by Iberia and the magnificent support of tour operators. The recent interest of Spanish hotel chains to tap the Caribbean island’s market, coupled with a hands-on promotional and advertisement campaign to get cracking this year in Madrid, Bilbao and Barcelona, will certainly help increase the number of tourist arrivals from the Iberian Peninsula, Puerto Rico’s number-one outbound market in Europe.
Q.- How many Spaniards are traveling to Puerto Rico right now?
A.- The number of Spanish tourists staying in our hotels is in the neighborhood of 12,000, but there are many others traveling for business, family or ethnic reasons. These people rely on other kinds of lodgings, so the actual figure could be hovering around 30,000 individuals, according to what airlines report.
Q.- Is Iberia Airlines doing its best to carry these many tourists?
A.- Fortunately the number of flights has ramped up thanks to the close ties we’ve had with Iberia over the past couple of years. Right now, the carrier is making five weekly flights to the island since the summer of 2006, compared to just three flights a week it used to operate before. Now, given Iberia’s need to ratchet up the number of South American-bound flights –since Air Madrid ceased all operations there- they have told us it’s going to be just four nonstop flights a week beginning March 25. I must also say that as many as two dozen Spanish wholesalers are including Puerto Rico in their catalogs and brochures, so those efforts will surely put us in a position to increase the number of visitors from this major outbound market.
Q.- What Spanish groups are interested in opening hotels in Puerto Rico?
A.- There are some of them. Here in FITUR, we’ve held talks with several of those hotel chains. Those contacts have been going on for months and we hope to make an official announcement anytime soon.
Q.- What tour operators are increasingly working on the Spanish market?
A.- Viva Tours.
Q.- And in the German market?
A.- TUI and Meyers
Q.- What about the British market?
A.- Sunville, Caribbean Holidays, which is a sort of combination between Sunville and Long Haul.
Q.- And in the Portuguese market? Is it Abreu?
A.- Abreu is one of the few wholesalers including Puerto Rico in their plans. We’re not that well known there, but nevertheless Abreu has been working with us for the past 15 years or so.
Q.- How do you conceive promotion and advertisement in Spain in 2007?
A.- As far as promotion is concerned, we’re not only trying our hand at it but also stepping up all efforts in that particular sense. There’s a plan underway to place ads on TV, on the radio and splay them on buses. Last year we rolled out a very interesting campaign with 15 SMART cars that toured the city of Madrid. This time around, we’re planning to extend that initiative to the cities of Bilbao and Barcelona.
Q.- Are you considering the possibility of strengthening ties with tour operators out of Europe?
A.- Here in FITUR we cut a couple of major deals, one of them with Viva Tours and another one with El Corte Ingles in the case of Spain. The other accord was inked with TUI and Meyers for the German market. The idea is not only to work those markets and multiply investments, but also to follow up on the outcomes. That means beefing up relationships with other wholesalers.
Q.- Do you think the CTO is actually promoting the Caribbean in the Spanish market and across the rest of Europe?
A.- In the case of the European market, there’s no doubt about that. The job the CTO is conducting in Germany, Netherlands and the UK is very active, indeed. We’re even teaming up with them to roll out some road shows in Paris and Milan. However, as far as the Spanish market is concerned, the CTO still has a long way to go and they can count on Puerto Rico’s support to pull that off. We’ve been in this market for a number of years and we know how to help them out.
Q.- Do you believe a CTO booth here in FITUR will make many Spanish investors open their eyes and look to the Caribbean, a region teeming with perspectives, possibilities and opportunities?
A.- Yes and no. If they set up a booth here at FITUR and they don’t show up again, I can tell them not to come at all in the first place. But if the fact of attending FITUR means they’ve got a plan in their hands, a plan to work on this market all year round and beyond, combined with good promotion and advertisement, and coupled with some serious follow-up on a regular basis, then they should be here in FITUR; make no mistakes about it.
