Posted on 05/05/2016 5:00:20 AM PDT by cll
The "humanitarian crisis" narrative fueled by the administration of Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro García Padilla, together with the fiscal crisis and the impact of the transmission of the Zika virus, is backfiring on the government of Puerto Rico, costing millions of dollars in revenue and affecting directly tourism, one of the few economic sectors that produce positive results for the U.S. territory.
While it is true that the spread of Zika has had a strong impact on attracting tourists, groups and conventions to the island, this factor has been lagging in third place, taking the head "humanitarian crisis" narrative followed by the government financial crisis .
The "humanitarian crisis" mentioned by the governor on numerous occasions has generated the perception that on the island there are no medical or financial systems, are lacking food, medicine, education and security, which already questioned even wearing shoes, and existence water, electricity and garbage collection. This perception, combined with the economic crisis and Zika, has already cost the country in the past two months, $ 16 million, equivalent to 26,137 room nights and the cancellation of 32 to 35 conventions. In addition, different television reports on US networks are projecting the island to be in a precarious situation.
The information about the cancellations was confirmed by Milton Segarra, president of Meet Puerto Rico, the nonprofit organization that manages and promotes the island as a destination for meetings, trade shows and conventions, as well as incentive groups. He also said that the trend is rising because for December they were 8% above projections and in April they are barely at 68% of them.
Segarra demanded the government to be responsible in their statements about Puerto Rico and that they are issued carefully to avoid misperceptions.
He added that the organization remains in direct communication with groups interested in traveling to the island. They have strengthened advertising campaigns and promotions and are using testimonials from groups that have visited the island recently, and can carry the real message of what is experienced on the island.
"We serve mainly to the east coast of the United States, it is important to carry the message that as American citizens we have to comply fully with federal stipulations in core areas such as health. The perception that we are a third world country must be changed. The misperception is more dangerous than the Zika virus. In Brazil, the outbreak is far superior to the local one and they are still holding the Olympics, but on the island a Major League Baseball game is canceled. This industry is very sensitive to these issues, so we must be very careful with what you say, "he said.
Segarra said that the negative impact on the industry is only comparable to what happened in 2008 following the declaration of economic recession in the US, and in 2001 after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, when the industry tourism in Puerto Rico recorded significant declines in visitor arrivals.
Meanwhile, the deputy director of the Tourism Company, Luis Daniel Muniz said that they are prepared to continue the campaign to demonstrate that Puerto Rico is ready to handle the zika situation. He also stressed that they will continue to be very vocal about the measures taken to ensure education, health and security. "We will continue carrying the message that Puerto Rico is more prepared than any other Caribbean island and in the coming months we will strengthen our campaign outside of Puerto Rico and our strategies on other platforms, in a joint effort with hotels to continue to provide confidence in the market".
Meanwhile, Clarissa Jimenez, Director of the Puerto rico Hotel and Tourism Association, was direct in saying that "this has been blown out of proportion, we are doing much harm to ourselves." Shee recalled that on the island almost every week crowded outdoor events are held "and there is no problem. I can understand the responsibility of the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) to their warnings, but this has been blown out of proportion ".
For industry, the biggest fear is that the negative comments increase and tourists from abroad, which represents the largest segment of the tourism industry, stop coming to the island.
I know this story is not in the Queen’s English. It’s a Spanish-language article ran through Google translate and given a quick clean up for clarity’s sake.
That’s what I used to tell my parents when I blew my allowance money and I needed more...”it’s a humanitarian crises!”
Exactly. Puerto Rico is the teenager who won’t grow up.
So it’s the same of all carribean islands? Except most British ones.
Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress are acting as the Puerto Rico Governor’s sidekick in amplifying the manufactured crisis to reject spending cuts.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/may/4/democrats-draw-straight-line-between-puerto-rico-d/
“Forcing Puerto Rico to cut spending to deal with its debt could end up leaving the island territory even more vulnerable to the Zika virus, congressional Democrats warned Wednesday”.
Any aid to PR actually ends up in the hands of NYRicans. They shuttle back and forth with many, not all, on welfare and public assistance. And I don’t think they pay US taxes. Great.
It is present everywhere in the Americas, including the southeastern United States, but its spread and danger are widely exaggerated. In Puerto Rico, and island of 3.5 million people, there are only a few hundred cases confirmed. That’s less than one half of one percent of the population. And it’s a mild virus compared to other tropical diseases like malaria that abound elsewhere in the Caribbean but not in Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Maybe the Democrats should move their convention to San Juan as a show of support for Puerto Rico...
Puerto rico placed themselves in this mess.
Let them work their own way out of it without me having to pay for it.
Live within your means gub mint a holes
You too Illinois.
How do you utterly and completely f*** up your national economy and then blame it on anything but stupidity?
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