Skift Global Forum Preview: How Puerto Rico Made Tragedy an Opportunity for Its Tourism
Photo Credit: Carla Campos, pictured here at the right, will speak at Skift Global Forum in New York City on September 27. Puerto Rico Tourism Company
Skift Take
While many headlines continue to depict Puerto Rico in tragic terms, and there certainly are plenty of areas that are still struggling, many hotels and restaurants are back on their feet and better than before Maria. The island's tourism industry is on its way to real change as it tries to put the hurricane behind it.
Puerto Rico was dealt one of the worst hands a destination could ask for in September 2017 when Hurricane Maria, one one of the most destructive Atlantic hurricanes on record, tore through the island and killed nearly 3,000 people during the storm and in its aftermath, according to the most recent government estimates.
But just like New York City after 9/11 or New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, Puerto Rico saw an opportunity to change its image and rebuild better than before, and it's made progress towards that goal in the year since Maria hit. Carla Campos, executive director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, didn't waste any time using Puerto Rico's time in the spotlight post-Maria to its advantage to craft a comeback story that travelers and investors would revel in.
Campos, who became executive director earlier this year, will speak at Skift Global Forum in New York City on September 27. She is responsible for destination planning, development, policy, management and coll
