NEW YORK -- New York City and Puerto Rico launched a partnership
to boost tourism between the two destinations.
Destination marketing organizations NYC & Company and
Discover Puerto Rico signed a one-year alliance Tuesday at Manhattan's El Museo
del Barrio at an event hosted by "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel
Miranda, a New York-born Puerto Rican.
"I'm here to tell you Puerto Rico is waiting for you,"
Miranda said. "It's waiting for you to visit, to reestablish that
connection ... They need your money, they need your visit, they need your
support. They need as many voices as possible. And nothing is better for your
soul than to go visit Puerto Rico."
He added that going to the island is "more important
now than ever. I'm thrilled with this campaign."
The agreement stipulates that the two locales exchange
marketing assets to boost reciprocal travel, share best practices in tourism
marketing, and continue to support Puerto Rico's recovery from the destruction
of Hurricane Maria. Marketing examples this fall and winter include billboards
in San Juan promoting New York City and advertising on bus stop shelters and
Link NYC screens across New York's five boroughs.
Manuel joked that his personal Discover Puerto Rico campaign was called,
"You're spending a month in Puerto Rico with your grandparents." He
called those summers spent in a small town on the island "the highlight of
our year as kids."
"The gift it's given me that reverberates through the
rest of my life is incalculable ... to understand the food, the culture and
what it sounds like when coquis fill up the night sky."
Discover Puerto Rico CEO Brad Dean said the partnership was "unprecedented"
in terms of how closely the two DMOs are working together. He said it will "help
take our strategic tourism efforts to the next level."
"This comes at an important time to lift prosperity on
the island and accelerate its economic recovery," Dean said.
NYC & Company vice
chairman and senior vice president of the Shubert Organization Charles Flateman
called the first "city-to-island partnership" a nod to the "long
and special affinity between these two destinations."
"We want all New Yorkers to know Puerto Rico is open
for business and ready to welcome us all," he said.