Puerto Rico Uses Hurricane Headlines to Help Make It a Global Destination
Skift Take
When it comes to destinations post-disaster, bad publicity can usually be flipped on its head and retooled to portray an encouraging comeback story. Puerto Rico's tourism industry is on its way to such a story, not letting disaster images and videos derail its progress.
Many travelers have probably heard a lot about Puerto Rico during the past year following Hurricane Maria, and the island's tourism officials think that's a good thing.
After Maria's rain and winds left Puerto Rico, officials quickly realized that, when trying to get tourism roaring back, there's usually no such thing as bad publicity, said Carla Campos, executive director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, speaking Thursday at Skift Global Forum in New York City.
Campos said Puerto Rico had a destination recovery plan five days after Maria hit on September 20, 2017. "Leading up to Maria, visitor and room tax records were broken," she said. "A month before Maria, Puerto Rico had also officially been declare
