The Board of Directors of the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau announced the appointment of Mr. Raúl Bustamante as Chairman of the Board.
The Honorable Luis Fortuño, Governor of Puerto Rico, had appointed him to the Board of Directors of the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau in August of 2011.
It was during the Bureau’s annual membership meeting last December that the Board appointed Mr. Bustamante as Chairman of the Board.
A longtime supporter of the Bureau, its mission and vision, Mr. Bustamante had held the position of Chairman of the Board between 2000 and 2004, and had served the organization continuously since 1994 until 2004 in other board positions, including Secretary and Vice-Chairman.
During his tenure, Mr. Bustamante participated in the delineation of the marketing strategies to promote and sell the Puerto Rico Convention Center “Pedro Rosselló,” a half billion dollar government project. Having held the Chairmanship of the Board of Directors during the Bureau’s 40th Year Anniversary, now he will have the same position when the organization celebrates this year its 50th Anniversary.
In his role as Chairman of the Board, Mr. Bustamante’s leadership will be fundamental in supporting the Bureau’s activities, its functions, and important goals. His initial commitment will be to work closely with the newly-appointed senior vice president of sales, to provide his input and support to sell Puerto Rico effectively.
“The Puerto Rico Convention Bureau is an award-winning, well-respected organization within the global meetings and conventions arena; over the course of its half-Century in operations this institution has successfully positioned Puerto Rico as a world-class destination for meetings and conventions,” stated Mr. Bustamante.
“I am honored in having the opportunity to play a significant role in the future of the organization, and to contribute to the continued development and success of this important segment of Puerto Rico’s tourism industry.”
A seasoned hotel executive, Mr. Bustamante is a native of Colombia who has worked in Puerto Rico’s hospitality industry for more than two decades. His first assignment on the Island was in 1989 when Hilton International appointment him general manager of the Caribe Hilton; subsequently, in 1993 he became Divisional Director of Hilton International Puerto Rico, overseeing the three Hilton hotels in San Juan, Ponce and Mayaguez. At that time he was also responsible for identifying potential locations for hotel developments in The Caribbean.
In 1999 Mr. Bustamante founded Phoenix Hotel Management Corporation to acquire the then Ramada International hotel in San Juan. In 2000 he retired from Hilton International after a successful career of over twenty years with the prestigious international hotel company. Following its renovation, in 2001 he converted the 96-room Ramada International San Juan into the San Juan Beach hotel, which Mr. Bustamante later sold in 2007.
In February of 2006 Mr. Bustamante became Managing Director of the 570 rooms Condado Plaza Hotel and Casino, embarking on an extensive renovation that concluded at the end of 2007. In March of 2009 the hotel became the Conrad San Juan Condado Plaza, a stunning luxury property overlooking both the Atlantic Ocean and the Condado Lagoon.
Over the years Mr. Bustamante has been an active leader within the Island’s tourism sector and has served on several industry Boards and committees, including the presidency of the Puerto Rico Hotel and Tourism Association in 1996, and the Chairmanship of the Bureau in 2004. In 2010 Mr. Bustamante was appointed chairman of the Marketing Committee of the Puerto Rico Hotel & Tourism Association.
During the past twenty years Mr. Bustamante has had the opportunity to represent the Governor of Puerto Rico and the Mayor of San Juan in several Boards of Directors; one of these assignments as vice-president of the Board of Directors of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company in 2006. He also served in several opportunities as President of the Tourism Committee of the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce, as a Director of its Board of Directors, and as member of its Executive Committee.
As a community leader, Mr. Bustamante has been involved in various non-profit organizations and community projects, and has been recognized by the Puerto Rico Chamber of Representatives and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) for his contributions and services to the community. As part of his involvement with the industry Mr. Bustamante also serves as Board member of the Puerto Rico Scholarship Foundation, an organization that helps to develop young students in Puerto Rico to become industry leaders.
Most recently, the Governor of Puerto Rico selected Mr. Bustamante to become part of its newly formed Council on Tourism, a newly created body specially designated to promote Puerto Rico’s tourism growth.
Among several awards, in 1995 and in 2008 Mr. Bustamante won the Puerto Rico Hotel and Tourism Association’s “Hotelier of the Year” award.
An avid reader and active in academic matters, Mr. Bustamante is a certificate graduate of the Wharton School of Business where he has attended courses in leadership and management affairs, mergers and acquisitions, and negotiation strategies. He also attended negotiating and leadership courses at Harvard University, finance courses at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and marketing and finance courses at Columbia University and at The London School of Business.
