Along with the hotel building boom, direct air access to San Juan is on the rise. At the end of last year, American Airlines added weekly direct flights from Caracas, Venezuela, and from Los Angeles, Calif. USAir began direct flights to and from Boston, Washington, D.C., and LaGuardia Airport, New York. Iberia added a weekly direct flight between San Juan and Madrid, Spain. In addition, such new, low-cost carriers as JetBlue, Song and Spirit Airlines have increased their flights into San Juan. “Puerto Rico provides that unique tropical feel,” Viscasillas says, “yet it’s so close.”

San Juan’s Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport is undergoing a $219 million (U.S. dollars) renovation. The project, which began in 2003, includes construction of a new terminal and extension and reconstruction of landing strips to accommodate increased traffic efficiently. Much of the work is scheduled for completion in late 2005, when the new Convention Center opens its doors.

Other attributes also make Puerto Rico a highly desirable meetings and conventions destination. The Island has a first-rate banking system comparable to G-7 economies. It boasts the most modern telecommunications system in Latin American, with such companies as Verizon, Sprint, ATT and Cingular doing business in San Juan. It is not surprising that more than 160 Fortune 500 companies, including Microsoft, Procter and Gamble, and Johnson & Johnson, have offices on the island. In many cases, these offices are responsible not only for Puerto Rico, but also for Caribbean and Latin American operations.

Good Value

Despite the island’s sophisticated business infrastructure, low labor and tax costs make San Juan the least expensive place to do business compared to other small and mid-sized cities in most industrial countries, according to a study released in February, 2004, by the audit firm KPMG LLP. In an analysis of 121 cities in eleven countries, including seven major industrial nations, the study found that San Juan was six percent less expensive than the U.S. average. KPMG’s 2004 Competitive Alternatives study measured the combined impact of 27 location-sensitive business-operating costs, including labor, taxes, transportation, facility, financing and utility costs. The findings: In San Juan, labor costs are a whopping 25 percent below the U.S. average. The city is especially cost-competitive in corporate and software services, electrical systems development and research and development, the study found.

Labor costs belie the depth of training of Puerto Rico’s workforce. Sixty percent of the college-age population is enrolled in one of the Island’s colleges and universities. The high education level is a major reason why more than half of the Fortune 100 companies use Puerto Rico’s productive workforce.

“If you’re looking for a sophisticated business climate with the allure of a tropical Island, Puerto Rico can’t be beat,” Viscasillas concludes. “Along with the ocean and unique culture, San Juan has the advanced infrastructure and highly educated, well-priced workforce to accommodate large meetings and conventions superbly.”

The Puerto Rico Convention Center, near Old San Juan and the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, will be the centerpiece of a $415 million (U.S. dollars) destination that is the largest waterfront development project in the history of the U.S. and its territories. Conceived as a bustling urban center, the 113-acre (46 hectãres) Puerto Rico Convention Center District will combine shops, restaurants, movie theaters, offices, residential units, hotel and plazas. There, conventioneers will convene to experience the vibrant energy and culture distinctive to San Juan, Puerto Rico. For information, call 1-800-875-4765 or visit www.prconvention.com

Editor’s Note:

The Puerto Rico Convention Bureau is the official marketing and sales agent for the Puerto Rico Convention Center at the Puerto Rico Convention Center District. The non-profit organization is responsible for promoting and developing group and convention business to Puerto Rico through an integrated marketing strategy for more than 40 years. Based in San Juan, with offices in Chicago, Madrid, Miami, New York and Washington D.C., the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau provides sales consultation services to meeting planners in the corporate, incentive and association markets. The Bureau contributes approximately $80 million annually to the Island’s economy. For more information, visit: info@prcb.org or our Internet page at www.meetpuertorico.com. The Puerto Rico Convention Bureau, representing the capital city of San Juan, has been granted provisional entry into BestCities.net, a global alliance of Bureaus that represent the highest standards of service in the meetings and convention industry. For more information visit www.bestcities.net.

High-resolution images of the Puerto Rico Convention Center architectural renderings are available upon request.

Press Relations Office:

Name of PR firm: YPB&R

Account manager: Kathy Hernandez

Telephone no.: (407) 875-1111

E-mail address: kathy_hernandez@ypbr.com

Further information LACIME 2004: