{"id":13900,"date":"2018-08-21T21:27:08","date_gmt":"2018-08-22T04:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyovation.com\/?p=13900"},"modified":"2018-08-21T21:27:08","modified_gmt":"2018-08-22T04:27:08","slug":"puerto-rico-tourism-industry-calls-news-coverage-islands-positive-milestones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyovation.com\/2018\/08\/21\/puerto-rico-tourism-industry-calls-news-coverage-islands-positive-milestones\/","title":{"rendered":"Puerto Rico Tourism Industry Calls For News Coverage Of The Island’s Positive Milestones"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"(PRNewsfoto\/Discover
(PRNewsfoto\/Discover Puerto Rico)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Discover\u00a0Puerto Rico<\/span>\u00a0announced today a new initiative to underscore the progress\u00a0Puerto Rico’s<\/span>\u00a0tourism industry has made since Hurricane Maria. As the one year mark approaches and old imagery resurfaces in the news and in social media, local tourism and community members are rallying audiences everywhere, including news media, to #CoverTheProgress and share real-time Island imagery and the many milestones that have led the Island in one of the greatest comeback stories in tourism.<\/p>\n

This initiative stemmed from the strong sentiment of the local community paired with reactions from recent travelers to\u00a0Puerto Rico<\/span>. Tourism benefits everyone on the Island, and sharing the positive milestones achieved within the tourism industry will help continue to attract travelers \u2013 helping to drive the recovery forward.<\/p>\n

“Six months after Hurricane Maria hit, more than fifty percent of travelers said media coverage negatively impacted their view of\u00a0Puerto Rico<\/span>\u00a0as a destination and we’re hoping to change that as the one year anniversary approaches.\u00a0Puerto Rico<\/span>\u00a0declared itself open for tourism in late December, and the local tourism industry has worked very hard for the past year to come back strong. <\/em><\/p>\n

There’s a lot to celebrate and we don’t want the one year anniversary to set us back,” said\u00a0Brad Dean<\/span>, CEO of Discover Puerto Rico. “While there’s still progress to be made in some areas of the Island, we’re asking for the vibrancy of\u00a0Puerto Rico<\/span>\u00a0as a tourism destination to also be shared and for the milestones the local industry and communities worked hard to achieve to be celebrated. We’re taking this moment to encourage all audiences to help us spotlight our tourism recovery and invite travelers to visit us as tourism is a vital contributor to the economy.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As part of this initiative, local members of Humacao \u2013 one of the Island’s hardest hit communities that became well known for the S.O.S. image that went viral in the immediate aftermath of the storm \u2013 have a message to share. They came together with the local tourism industry to replace the aerial image in hopes that this image also goes viral. This time, the message reads: “Bienvenidos!”<\/p>\n

“Being on the Island and completely disconnected, we didn’t realize how far our picture traveled. We’re thankful it did. But now, we’re ready to turn the page. We’ve been wanting to clean up that message for a while as we’re past it. We were asked what message we’d want to share with the world and hope our new positive message spreads just as fast,” said\u00a0Janet Gonzalez<\/span>, resident of Humacao.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Humacao-Punta-Santiago-1-Final\"
Discover Puerto Rico announced today a new initiative to underscore the progress Puerto Rico\u0092s tourism has made since Hurricane Maria. As part of this initiative, local members of Humacao \u0096 one of the Island\u0092s hardest hit communities that became well known for the S.O.S. image that went viral in the immediate aftermath of the storm \u0096 are encouraging travelers to be part of the Puerto Rico\u0092s comeback story. For more information about Puerto Rico, visit discoverpuertorico.com #DiscoverPuertoRico #CoverTheProgress (PRNewsfoto\/Discover Puerto Rico)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The following are among the many tourism milestones achieved:<\/p>\n