Puerto Rico is heading into the high season as a far more visible destination than in years past.
Tourism and government officials kicked off the island's multiyear, $20 million marketing plan during simultaneous launches in New York and San Juan last week.
In San Juan, Gov. Luis Fortuno proclaimed that "Puerto Rico does it better, for investors, developers and visitors."
In New York, images of the island's mountains and beaches, along with the "Just Think Puerto Rico" slogan, lit up the outside video wall of the Nasdaq building in Times Square.
The nearby Reuters headquarters building also features a huge Puerto Rico message on its facade.
"These images and messages define us as a destination and invite consumers to imagine the endless possibilities of a vacation on our island," said Mario Gonzalez-Lafuente, executive director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Co.
The messages will be in place through Jan. 1, although the campaign itself runs throughout next year and beyond.
Spring and summer 2011 will feature events targeted at niche markets, such as sports and gastronomical travel.
Also planned are newspaper and TV ads, social media links, marketing activities in key gateway cities in the mainland U.S. and a revamped website at SeePuertoRico.com.
"The focus of this campaign is to generate demand and increase demand for Puerto Rico as a vacation destination," Gonzalez-Lafuente said.
"We had to reposition Puerto Rico as a destination, and we knew we needed an aggressive strategy for our major markets," Gonzalez-Lafuente said.
"A destination cannot survive today or be successful by relying only on traditional media, so this campaign encompasses a 360-degree strategy that projects Puerto Rico as a destination leader in the Caribbean," he said.
While tourism officials point to 4% growth in hotel occupancies and visitor numbers this year over last, Gonzalez-Lafuente said that continued growth in the meetings and leisure segments "is critical to ensure a robust tourism industry."
Puerto Rico welcomed 1.2 million cruise passengers in 2010; of that number, 500,000 embarked in Puerto Rico, a 37% increase.
In addition, 20% of the embarking cruise passengers made pre- or post-cruise stays on the island, Gonzalez-Lafuente said.
Gonzalez-Lafuente called travel agents "key elements in our distribution channels. Our Travel Expert program is being revamped, and we're recruiting new agents to come onboard, take the course, visit Puerto Rico and sell Puerto Rico."