Q & A with Nelly Cruz, PR Manager for the Puerto Rico Tourism Company

Regardless of holding on to the U.S. as its number-one outbound market, Puerto Rico is beginning to look far more thoroughly to Europe and especially to Spain, not only in an effort to lure more visitors, but also a larger chunk of corporate money. Companies like Spain’s Sol Melia are bidding up for the lovely island with plans in the offing to add as many as 5,000 new hotel rooms during the ongoing administration. Puerto Rico is making good on this endeavor by attending major tourism fairs like FITUR.

Q.- How is Puerto Rico piecing together its new promotional campaign in the European market?
A.- We’ve been working really hard to put Puerto Rico on the map, not only in Spain but also in countries like UK, Germany and other markets where we believe we have a chance to get a toehold on. Obviously, Spain is our top outbound market in Europe and that’s why we’re here in FITUR, willing to showcase all the wonderful things that Puerto Rico has to offer.

Q.- In this edition of FITUR, the Puerto Rican booth was one of the most bustling ones. What’s the biggest piece of news you can break to our readers?
A.- We’re encouraging everybody to visit Puerto Rico. We set up a booth packed with pictures and images of the island. Also this time around, we’ve brought along a Latin Jazz band to tell our visitors about the other Caribbean sounds and beats we have and cherish on the island.

We’re moving on with a promotional and advertisement campaign entitled “Explore Beyond the Beach” because Puerto Rico offers sunbathers the opportunity of spending a few days at the beach and then rent a car to tour the 78 municipalities, the entire island from coast to coast, including the Vieques and Culebra isles. Puerto Rico is a safe and sophisticated travel destination teeming with superb shopping, great nightlife, good casinos and bars, fancy restaurants and probably the Caribbean’s finest golf courses.

Q.- What kind of promotional policy is the Puerto Rican government sticking to and what’s Spain’s position in it?
A.- It’s no secret that the U.S. is by and large our number-one market, especially now that Puerto Rico is ruled out of the new passport regulations. However, Spain has always been a key market to us. Iberia makes weekly nonstop flights and we’re ready and eager to ratchet them up. We want more and more Spanish tourists to visit the island.

In the same breath, we’re gunning for more Spanish hotel chains to come to Puerto Rico, just like they’re doing on other Caribbean islands. As we speak, Sol Melia is coming in with a Paradisus and is currently weighing a second option on the island, in San Juan, and we’ll be making an announcement about it pretty soon. Here in FITUR, we’ve been visited by a number of companies interested in doing business on the island.

Q.- How many German tourists is Puerto Rico scooping up and how many is it planning to reel in?
A.- The island is nabbing some 40,000 tourists from Europe every year, I mean the amount of visitors that comes and checks in at hotels. Yet there’re many more who come to the island on their own and stay in guesthouses, in the homes of relatives and friends or just to camp out somewhere around Puerto Rico.

Q.- How important is the cruise industry to Puerto Rico?
A.- It means a lot to us. Puerto Rico is the second-best transit port in the Western Hemisphere. Many Caribbean islands depend on us to make headway in this sector. They say that of liners don’t depart from Puerto Rico or use the island nation as a port of call, there’s no way those cruises are ever going to make it to their destinations.

We’ve invested a good deal in cruise-oriented incentive travel. For instance, we signed an agreement with the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) in a hope to increase both the number of passengers and the revenues. I think it’s a good accord for Puerto Rico and for the rest of the Caribbean region.

Q.- What European airlines are flying to Puerto Rico?
A.- Right now, just Iberia is flying to the island, though travelers may make connections through U.S. carriers from virtually any major U.S. city.

Q.- On the issue of taxes levied on hotels. What are you planning to do to help tourists skip those high-priced taxes?
A.- We are absolutely against the tax levied on hotels and guestrooms in the city of San Juan. As we speak, we’re engaged in a lawsuit we filed against the San Juan municipality, so that means I’m not allowed to make any further comments on that issue.

Q.- What plans does the island have in store as far as hotel development is concerned?
A.- Our administration is working hard to add a grand total of 5,000 new rooms to our hotel portfolio. Right now, the island has 14,000 rooms and makes in the neighborhood of $3 billion worth of revenue with all of them. At this point in time, we’ve already achieved half that goal and the remaining 2,500 new rooms are either under construction or just about to be opened.

Q.- What hotel chains or groups will own those new guestrooms?
A.- There’s something for everyone. Starwood, Hilton, Melia, I mean, we’re talking about several developments plans now underway. All I can say now is that investors and hoteliers are putting their smart money on Puerto Rico because they have great confidence in what the island has to offer.

Q.- Do you believe FITUR is an interesting fair for the Caribbean region, a tradeshow that could open a window of opportunity for all of them to meet new and important investors?
A.- For me, this is the most important fair for the Caribbean. This is a tradeshow everybody attends. You see publishers, wholesalers, tour operators, investors, developers and a bunch of other people interested in doing business with the Caribbean.