The Tourism Alliance for Puerto Rico announced today that it will present its tourism platform to all candidates for governor (on these lines) through forums, which will be individual and virtual. (David Villafane / Staff)
The Tourism Alliance for Puerto Rico announced today that it will present its tourism platform to all candidates for governor, the mayor of San Juan and the resident commissioner in Washington.
Daphne Barbeito, spokesperson for the alliance, pointed out that the forums, which will be individual and virtual, will begin today with the candidate for governor for the Popular Democratic Party, Carlos Delgado Altieri, and will last until the first week of October. The interest of the organization is to obtain the endorsement of its platform for the country's tourism development. Among the proposals presented is to extend the appointment of the director of the Tourism Company to six years.
“We are living through critical moments for our industry. Candidates always present their platforms for the tourism sector without necessarily having a broad vision of those who serve and move our industry. The purpose of presenting our ideas to them will be to listen to their respective visions of the sector and how close they can be to what we understand must be the needs to recover our battered industry ”, expressed Barbeito.
For his part, José Poupal, president of the Puerto Rico Operators, Tourist Guides and Excursions group (Protge), pointed out that in the past it has been seen how ideas are presented that are not fulfilled or that undergo changes that most of the time go to the detriment of the industry. “This time the wheel will turn in another way, we want to make sure that everyone is clear about what the real needs of our sector are, and what better than the suggestions and commitments made with representatives of many of us who work our tourism”, express.
Barbeito continued saying that the Tourist Alliance has divided the virtual meetings with the candidates into three phases. The first phase is this week with the candidates for governor, next week will be with the candidates for mayor of San Juan and today the candidates for resident commissioner will be invited.
At the moment, of the six candidates for governor, five have responded to the invitation, with the exception of the candidate for the New Progressive Party, Pedro Pierluisi.
“There is no doubt that there are issues of great importance for the tourism industry that we want to know their positions. Among the most relevant issues discussed within the alliance are the dismantling of the Tourism Company, the vision of Discover Puerto Rico, as well as the privatization of the docks, among others. We have a blank 'canvas' and we can't go back to what we've been doing for 20 years. It is time to establish a modern, efficient and sustainable model that is facilitating and representative of an entire industry. The time has come to restructure and transform our industry ”, concluded the president of the travel agency Cruceros To Go and spokesperson for the Tourism Alliance.
The Tourism Alliance for Puerto Rico will share the details of its platform and the analysis of the candidates' proposals and which ones offer the best vision of tourism on the island during the week of October 5, 2020. The general elections will be on Tuesday, November 3.
