By The Star Staff
A forum will be held later this month with Puerto Rican influencers with pages on social networks related to promoting tourist attractions, at-large Sen. Keren Riquelme Cabrera announced Thursday.
The event will take place on Thursday, Oct. 19 at 10 a.m. at the Department of Economic Development and Commerce’s Entrepreneurship Center at 159 Carlos Chardón St. in Hato Rey.
“Like everything, the promotion of our tourism charms has been evolving for several years. The boom in the content with which many pages on the Facebook, Instagram and X social networks, among others, promote destinations, restaurants and even tourist attractions in Puerto Rico is unique in history,” the New Progressive Party senator said. “Many citizens find out about attractions, events and places of interest through pages such as ‘Meet PR’, among dozens of others. The goal of this forum is to outline how these platforms are incorporated into a central marketing strategy for the benefit of Puerto Rican visitors and businesses.”
“Places like the Traffic Safety Commission’s Transit Park, located in the municipality of Arecibo, have registered large increases in the number of visitors due to the promotion they receive through these pages on social networks,” the senator added. “Similarly, many restaurants in the mountain region have experienced marked increases in visitors due to these pages. The meeting will serve to hear how these people set up their platforms, how we can support them and how we incorporate them into the marketing strategies of the central government, as well as of the municipalities.”
Riquelme said the forum is composed of those who maintain the pages and portals, as well as staff from the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, the Mayors Federation and Mayors Association, the Department of Economic Development and Commerce, the island’s destination marketing organization and the Puerto Rico Corporation for Public Broadcasting (WIPR). among other guests.
“This forum, in addition to having local tourism influencers, will have all the support apparatus for outlining ideas and concepts that allow greater integration and visibility outside the island,” Riquelme said. “These portals could be part of the marketing strategy for countries in Europe, Asia and even Africa; because there is no doubt that they have been a success in boosting local tourism.”