By Dana Niland
CJ Contributor

Puerto Rico’s hotels have a new top executive.

The Puerto Rico Hotel and Tourism Association has elected Pablo Torres, general manager of San Juan’s Caribe Hilton Hotel, as its new Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Torres will lead and guide the Association’s endeavors for the next two years.

“I take on the presidency of the PRHTA Board of Directors with much energy, a positive outlook, and the deep desire to contribute to tourism activity and economic development for Puerto Rico,” Torres said. “We will work hand-in-hand with the public sector to advance an agenda to benefit tourism on the Island while we revitalize the Association’s Strategic Plan to continue to provide value to our members and business partners.”

During the president’s luncheon of the outgoing Board of Directors, Miguel Vega passed the baton of the presidency after presenting the Association’s achievements and performance during his tenure at the helm of the PRHTA.

“It is convenient to highlight what has been beneficial for the industry and what we have achieved during these years, in addition to what we have worked with jointly to benefit tourism,” Vega said. “We were the precursors in the conversations for establishing a destination marketing organization for Puerto Rico.”

Indeed, the Discover Puerto Rico DMO launched this summer.

“There was resistance to the model, but the Association worked in cooperation with government administrations to advance this project and finally, last July, we witnessed the establishment of this entity,” he continued. “The creation of Discover Puerto Rico is a leap forward in the marketing and promotion of Puerto Rico.”

— CJ