The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) said it has decided
not to hold its Global Summit in San Juan this April to enable Puerto Rico to use resources for tourism
promotion instead of the summit.
The WTTC Global Summit will instead be held in Cancun,
Mexico, April 21 to 23.
WTTC called the decision “what is best for Puerto Rico at
this time.”
“The financial resources that had been set aside will
instead be focused on impactful, consumer-facing campaigns and marketing
efforts that strongly promote Puerto Rico’s ‘open for tourism’ message and
drive immediate visitor numbers to the island,” the organization said in a
statement.
WTTC CEO Gloria Guevara said, “WTTC remains strongly
committed to supporting Puerto Rico’s amazing comeback story as seen in their
record-breaking year in tourism last year. Although the island was ready to
welcome us with open arms this April despite the recent seismic activity in the
southern region, reallocating resources to continue this great momentum is the
right thing to do in order to further boost tourism.”
WTTC said it would hold a “major event” in San Juan later
this year.