The Puerto Rico Convention Bureau, an organization dedicated to promoting and booking group meetings for the Island, announced its Fiscal Year 2008-2009 results during its Annual Membership Meeting.
The meeting was held at the Ritz-Carlton San Juan Hotel, Spa & Casino.
During the past Fiscal Year 2008-2009 which ended on June 30, 2009, the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau confirmed a total of 519 definite group bookings for a total of 264,156 room nights, representing an increase of 20 percent over last year.
Taking into account the economic situation, these are outstanding results, where 64% of the business booked is future business, arriving in 2010 and beyond and 36% were groups arriving during 2009.
In addition, the Bureau generated 1,023 leads, representing a total of 812,185 future potential room night bookings for the Island.
1,346 service referrals were distributed to non-hotel member-suppliers during the year, representing more than $4.4 million in potential revenue for local businesses serving the meetings market.
These overall results represent an estimated infusion of $126 million into the Island's economy.
Addressing nearly 200 member-suppliers and member-hoteliers during the Bureau's presentation, Ana María Viscasillas, president and CEO, Puerto Rico Convention Bureau stated:
"Despite negative perceptions about corporate meetings and an economic downturn unlike any other time in our history, Puerto Rico demonstrated a strong level of resilience within the meetings marketplace. Our team of professionals kept focus in our mission of securing group business for the Island and pull an outstanding achievement in terms of overall production. We should all share our pride at this accomplishment."
Despite some of the toughest challenges ever to face the meetings industry, the Bureau welcomed 95,517 delegates, with 524 groups visiting the Island during the past fiscal year.
In addition, the PRCB's Destination Services department provided service to 1,969 groups, coordinating between member-suppliers and meeting planners to provide destination information, promotional materials, services through our member-suppliers, and more.
Groups that the Bureau worked closely with include the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the International Congress of Cardiologists, the Council of Engineering & Scientific Society Executive, and the World Bonsai Convention.
The Bureau also conducted 149 site inspections presenting Puerto Rico first hand to 470 meeting planners during the year. As a result, 600 individual hotel visits were conducted and coordinated by the Bureau.
Some of the most important achievements for the year include the Bureau's strategic partnership agreements with the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and with the Professional Convention Management Association's (PCMA).
These are the two most recognized organizations within the meetings industry in the U.S. and a Bureau first. In addition, the Bureau hosted the coveted PCMA's Annual Education Foundation Summit together with the El Conquistador Resort Waldorf Astoria Collection.
Through its membership with the BestCities global alliance the Convention Bureau secured its Global Certification through Lloyd's Quality Registered Service.
This important recognition makes the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau the only Bureau to have accreditation by both Lloyds of London through the BestCities Global Alliance and the Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) as an elite destination marketing organization.
Multi-Property Bookings - As the official Sales and Marketing agent for the Puerto Rico Convention Center, the Bureau secured 35 definite bookings at the facility, representing 74,687 room nights for a total estimated economic impact of $28 million
The organization also secured 130 lead bookings, representing 374,888 room nights for a potential estimated economic impact of over $140.5 million.
Ambassador Program - The Bureau's high-profile Ambassador Program also reached new heights, with 383 Ambassadors to-date, generating a potential economic impact of over $21 million for Puerto Rico's local economy this year.
As part of the annual recognition of its Ambassadors, the Bureau recently awarded the Distinguished Ambassador Award to Graham Castillo during a series of intimate Ambassador gatherings held in San Juan and the U.S. Mainland earlier this month, culminating with a kick-off meeting and motivational seminar for almost 100 Ambassadors to begin the new fiscal year.
For the first time, the week of August 9 through15 was proclaimed as the Ambassador Week by the Puerto Rico Department of State.
Membership and Membership Relations - The Bureau welcomed 39 new members in FY 08-09, while maintaining a 78 percent membership retention rate. During the year, the Convention Bureau also hosted six educational seminars with the attendance of more than 550 member-suppliers.
Among these educational seminars were the Value of Association Business by ASAE's President & CEO, John Graham, and PCMA's President & CEO, Deborah Sexton conducting The Power of Meetings Town Hall.
Other events held by the Bureau for its members included two marketplace events while continuing to host the monthly Meet & Deals with average attendance draws of more than 100 member-suppliers, the President's luncheon and Meet the Members events.
Sales and Marketing Activities:
- During FY 08-09, the Bureau hosted sales blitz events in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Montreal, New York City, San Antonio, Toronto and Washington, DC and welcomed meeting planners from around the U.S. to Puerto Rico during three destination reviews. The Bureau also attended and/or exhibited at 50 tradeshows, and hosted 525 special events and activities to potential groups, including one-on-one presentations.
- On the marketing front, over the past fiscal year the Bureau launched its new Smooth advertising and communication messaging campaign. In addition to eight new advertising headlines, the Bureau launched the Smooth Attrition promotion in partnership with local hoteliers to assist planners concerned by group attrition rates. Various direct mail and email campaigns were conducted, including mailers to niche group market segments that included sports, weddings, incentives, medical/pharma, financial/insurance, multi-cultural and lost/repeat business. Other highlights include the launch of a new e-magazine, Puerto Rico Review.
- Ongoing publicity efforts of the Communications Team resulted in 466 articles appearing in Puerto Rico, North and Latin America, as well as Europe, generating $2.1 million in equivalent advertising value and $22 million in equivalent PR value for the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau.
- In the third quarter of the year, the Bureau's communications team launched its Meetings Mean Business campaign to respond to negative perceptions about the value of meetings in the wake of TARP recipient meetings and the economic down-turn, resulting in 12 media interviews with national and local media. In addition, the Bureau hosted two press events in New York City and hosted Island visits for various journalists from the meetings industry.
During the past fiscal year, the Bureau launched a redesigned web site on behalf of the Puerto Rico Convention Center. The site received 102,438 visitor sessions with more than 1.8 million page views. The Bureau's web site received over a half-million visitor sessions with over 4 million page views.
For more information, visit Puerto Rico Convention Bureau
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