Milton Segarra, president and CEO of Meet Puerto Rico, has resigned his post and has accepted a position as CEO of Visit Mississippi Gulf Coast. His resignation is effective Dec. 15; a successor has not been named.
Segarra was hired in June 2013 as head of the nonprofit organization designed to drive meetings, conventions, trade shows and incentive groups to Puerto Rico.
Milton Segarra
He had formerly served as executive director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Co.(PRTC) and prior to that was the secretary of the Department of Economic Development & Commerce and held management positions with several hotel brands in Puerto Rico.
"I know I leave the meetings industry in good hands with the future leadership of the new DMO (Destination Marketing Organization) set to start in July 2018," Segarra said.
Puerto Rico's Gov. Ricardo Rossello signed off on a bill last April to create a new entity that will merge the PRTC and Meet Puerto Rico into one entity to develop the destination's brand, promote Puerto Rico, attract visitors and increase exposure.
"For almost three decades, Puerto Rico has been suffering from different messaging from the two groups. Now it will be one message, one brand," Segarra said at the time.
The meetings industry suffered setbacks from the recent hurricanes, but is rebounding and will host the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association's annual Marketplace event at the Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan Jan. 30 to Feb. 1.