Puerto. As experienced planners. Where You ll Find Cutting Edge Techn. know very well, an incentive

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1 As experienced planners know very well, an incentive trip or meeting that earns rave reviews can be a tough act to follow. So when Sherry Parks, CEO of Corporate Planners Unlimited Inc. in Dana Point, CA, was faced with the inevitable question How are you going to top this? from one of her incentive clients, she found a twoword answer: Puerto Rico. Last spring, Parks planned an incentive trip for 250 telecommunications executives at the 600-room Westin Rio Mar Beach Puerto Where You ll Find Cutting Edge Techn 48 JANUARY 2006 CORPORATE & INCENTIVE TRAVEL

2 Rico By Karen Brost ology And First Class Accommodations The 580,000 sq. ft. Puerto Rico Convention Center, the largest single meeting place in the Caribbean and the most technologically advanced, features a dramatic, wave-like architectural design and 39,500 sq. ft. Grand Ballroom adorned with the largest chandelier in the world. Photo credit: Puerto Rico Convention Bureau CORPORATE & INCENTIVE TRAVEL JANUARY

3 Puerto Rico Golf Resort & Spa in Rio Grande on the island s northeastern shore. This group has been to Jamaica, to Bermuda and the Grand Wailea on Maui, so they ve been spoiled, she explained. The quality of this destination held up. It was a very, very good experience. Roughly the size of Connecticut, Puerto Rico is the smallest island in the Greater Antilles and is surrounded by the waters of the Caribbean and the Atlantic. The name Puerto Rico, which literally means rich port, was inspired by the large deposits of gold the Taino Indians showed Christopher Columbus and his men when they arrived in Today, the island offers many riches as a meeting destination. Ana Maria Viscasillas, president and CEO of the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau, explained the destination s appeal. Puerto Rico offers planners everything they need to host a successful meeting, including first class accommodations, a modern infrastructure for state-of-the-art meetings and cutting-edge technology to keep business people connected. Add to that our outstanding beaches, world-class golf, spas, international cuisine and host Puerto Rico offers planners everything they need...from first class accommodations to cutting-edge technology. Ana Maria Viscasillas President and CEO Puerto Rico Convention Bureau San Juan, Puerto Rico of activities ranging from hikes in the El Yunque Rain Forest to exploring the living history of Old San Juan, and it s no wonder people refer to Puerto Rico as the techno-tropics. A New Center of Attraction The island s biggest meeting news is the recent opening of the new Puerto Rico Convention Center. The 580,000 square foot facility features a dramatic, wave-like architectural design and includes a 39,500 square foot Grand Ballroom adorned with the largest chandelier in the world. The center also offers over 150,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space and 15 meeting rooms that can be divided into as many as 28 separate breakout rooms. Viscasillas spoke about the impact the new center will have. Meeting in Puerto Rico will never be the same, she said. The new Puerto Rico Convention Center is the largest in the Caribbean and the most technologically advanced throughout both the Caribbean and Latin America. Wireless Internet access is available throughout the new center, and video conferencing, remote recording capabilities, programmable lighting and simultaneous language translation are among the other services offered. The opening of the Puerto Rico Convention Center represents the start of a new era for meetings in Puerto Rico, Viscasillas continued. With this facility, we can welcome larger groups of up to 10,000 delegates that were not able to consider Puerto Rico in the past because of meeting space needs. As part of the Puerto Rico Convention Center District, plans for the construction of a 500-room headquarter hotel are well underway. The $175-million facility is projected to open in Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, under its Sheraton banner, will manage the new Convention Center s flagship property. No Passports Required Another advantage is that Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States, which means that U.S. citizens do not need a passport to gain entry. This will still hold true when the new U.S. travel If your group loves golf, you re going to love Puerto Rico, the golf capital of the Caribbean. There are over 20 spectacular golf courses on the island with several more underway. Photo credit: El Conquistador Resort & Golden Door Spa 50 JANUARY 2006 CORPORATE & INCENTIVE TRAVEL

4 requirements for the Caribbean are phased in over the next two years. Hannah Greenberg, director of conference services for Meeting Mavericks in Voorhees, NJ, has found that to be an advantage. Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, so it s not technically offshore. We do have some issues with suppliers and exhibitors getting an OK to go offshore. She cited other advantages of meeting in Puerto Rico. It has the sand and sea. It has a culture different from ours, yet it s English speaking. It has gambling. For some people that s a definite plus. It has golf. It has good shopping. It has a rain forest. It has great activities. That made it easy for us to plan a variety of things. The island s currency is the U.S. dollar, which also helps simplify the planning process by eliminating the need to worry about exchange rates. Parks explained that since American citizens do not have to go through customs, Puerto Rico offers a good value for meeting attendees. The whole element of being able to go to a destination, buy a duty-free value, and not pay any imported duty on it is great, she said. Easy Access Puerto Rico is an easy destination to reach. I would compare it to Arizona in terms of the ease of travel, Greenberg said. The airfare was reasonable from points throughout the country, explained Sharyn Outtrim, director of special events for PrimeSport in Atlanta, GA. I was looking for a destination that would be easy to get to with flights going into major airports and that is what made Puerto Rico so attractive. Many major airlines offer service to Puerto Rico, and most of the major hubs Photo credit: Puerto Rico Convention Bureau in the U.S. offer daily non-stop service to Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, the island s capital. If we were going to do something on the east coast, it was probably one of the better airports to get in and out of, Outtrim commented. Greenberg chose the 382-room El San Juan Hotel & Casino for a medical meeting she planned for about 80 attendees. It s a beautiful property, she said. It s got that wow factor. You walk in the Fort San Geronimo, a 17th century fort located on the grounds of the Caribe Hilton Hotel, offers great sightseeing opportunities. door and see that ceiling and that lobby. It s breathtaking. It s got a great beach. It has unbelievable nightlife. It s a site where locals go to see and be seen. Every night is a party. The resort, which is set on 15 landscaped acres and offers 35,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, is located in the city of Carolina just five minutes from the airport, and within easy reach of the shopping, entertainment, and historic sites of Old San Juan. Sites to be Seen Outtrim recently brought a four-night incentive program to Puerto Rico. She admits it took some convincing, because her group was from the West Coast and she was leaning toward another destination. She credits the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau with winning her business. They really took charge, she said. I felt so comfortable with them. I was really kind of surprised that they said Let us set up your site inspections. She told her contact, I ve never, ever delegated this to anyone, but it sounds to me like you know exactly what we re looking for, so go for it. They had a great site visit. What impressed her the most was that it was almost like the convention bureau was an extension of each hotel s staff. They knew a great deal about the properties. She chose the Westin Rio Mar Beach Golf Resort & Spa for her group of 50 top performers and their guests. The Westin Rio Mar was very, very accommodating, she said. We had everyone on the concierge level. The concierge had let me know that she was going to add some activities. She had the croupier come from the casino and give a lesson. It was like they were proactive. The Westin Rio Mar has just spent more than $16 million to renovate its guest rooms and recently opened its 7,000 square foot Mandara Spa. Outtrim cited another example of how the hotel went above and beyond. We had a bad accident with one of my attendees, she explained. She tripped getting up on the shuttle bus and split her knee open. It could have been very disastrous. However, the hotel kept one of its security guards with us at the hospital the whole time and never left us until we got her on an airplane. It was really impressive. I hadn t ever experienced that before. When she wanted to do an offsite V.I.P. night on the town for about 25 people, her contact at the Bureau recommended the El San Juan. She had told me about the history of it, and how in the lobby everyone dresses to the nines and they party. People are dancing. It was kind of old world. CORPORATE & INCENTIVE TRAVEL JANUARY

5 Puerto Rico Outtrim was impressed by the level of service she received. Some destinations are on island time. In Puerto Rico I could get things done instantly. She gave an example of an experience she had at the El San Juan. My clients are huge cigar smokers and they made a last minute request. I called the cigar bar that afternoon and they were able to reserve a special drawer. They even put my client s name on the plaque and gave it to him at the end. Given the island s rich colonial history that dates back to 1508 when Ponce de Leon became the island s first governor, historic venues are easy to find in Puerto Rico. One of San Juan s oldest landmarks, the Dominican Convent, El Convento, once housed Spanish soldiers during the Spanish-American war and can now host up to 1,000 guests for cocktails or dinner on its massive courtyard. The oceanfront Fort San Geronimo is a popular choice for sightseeing. Visitors can see the very same ramparts that Queen Isabela's own Conquistadores once guarded. A Forest of Adventures The island s mountainous, semi-tropical El Yunque Rain Forest, which is managed by the U.S. Forest Service, offers hiking tours and other memorable diversions for meeting attendees. The bioluminescent kayaking was different from anything I ve offered before, Outtrim explained. You do it at night. There s a bioluminescent organism that lives in the water that glows when you move it. It s very cool. El Yunque is home to a wide variety of unique plant and animal life, including countless tiny, yet very vocal, tree frogs called coqui. Outtrim also used a venue called the Revealing Rainforest for one of her events. They delivered a magical evening. I never tell my guests where we re going and I like to use the natural environment. Our backdrop was a very thick jungle that obviously took hundreds It has the sand and sea...gambling, golf, shopping, a rain forest, and great activities. Hanna Greenberg Director of Conference Services, Meeting Mavericks Voorhees, NJ of years to grow. We had great music and a buffet dinner. The venue also offers ziplining across the river. We decided that it wasn t a good thing for all of our people. However, we put Dean and Mike, who were in charge of the company, in Indiana Jones outfits. The owner of the facility, who is a character and a half, was the MC with his British accent. He got the crowd s attention by saying Where are Dean and Mike? They want to welcome the crowd and nobody can find them. The light went on to the trees and they ziplined down to the roof of the building. Everyone was awestruck. It was just a great evening. The Sounds of Silence Astronomy buffs may also want to visit the Arecibo Observatory to see the largest radio telescope on Earth. It measures an impressive 1,000 feet in diameter. Scientists from all over the world use this massive, 20-acre dish to listen to the sounds of the universe. The observatory, which is located 90 minutes west of the airport, served as the backdrop for scenes in the James Bond movie Golden Eye and for the Jodie Foster movie Contact, which was based on a novel by Carl Sagan. Survival of the Fittest Team Parks recommends a 20-acre rainforest venue called Coco Rio. It s a very large jungle park beside the Westin Rio Mar and it offers an amazing opportunity to do a real survival theme, she said. Because of the way it s physically located, it lends itself the best I ve seen anywhere in North America or maybe even the world for this type of event. It s absolutely wonderful. It s certainly a hidden treasure. Coco Rio offers over 17,000 sq. ft. of open-air pavilions and can accommodate up to 3,000 guests. For team building activities, guests are marooned in the rain forest and must overcome various physical and mental feats to gain admittance to a special tribal feast and celebration. More East Side Stories On the island s northeastern tip, the 918-room El Conquistador Resort & Golden Door Spa sits on a 300-foot bluff overlooking the spot where the Atlantic and Caribbean meet. The resort includes 70,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, seven pools, seven lighted tennis courts, 18 holes of golf, and a private 100-acre island. Also located on the island s eastern side, just a short drive from the airport, is the 402-room InterContinental Resort & Casino San Juan. This beachfront resort offers a 24-hour business center and nearly 19,000 sq. ft. of meeting space that includes a boardwalk and other outdoor function areas. The Caribe Hilton also boasts a convenient oceanfront location near the airport and historic Old San Juan. The 168 units of Condado Lagoon Villas will join the hotel s 64 existing rooms as San Juan s largest resort for a total of 812 guests rooms. Nine restaurants are located onsite along with 24 meeting rooms and more than 65,000 sq. ft. of flexible meeting space. A special executive floor caters to business guests and wireless Internet 52 JANUARY 2006 CORPORATE & INCENTIVE TRAVEL

6 Puerto Rico access is available throughout the resort. The San Juan Marriott Resort and Stellaris Casino has 525 guest rooms and suites and 11,000 sq. ft. of total meeting space with a 7,000 sq. ft Grand Ballroom that seats 700. High speed Internet access is among the amenities at this fullservice resort. On the waterfront of historic Old San Juan you ll find The Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel, an elegant Spanish style hotel offering flexible meeting spaces and state-of-the-art facilities with audio-visual support. Eight acres of prime beachfront on Isla Verde is the home of the Ritz-Carlton, 15 minutes from historic Old San Juan. With four restaurants, an elegant spa and a 24- hour casino, it boasts over 30,000 sq. ft. of conference and banquet facilities including a 11,840 sq. ft. ballroom supporting from guests. Originally built in the 1950 s the Hyatt Dorado Beach Resort and Country Club has been totally restored and includes the state-of-the-art Costa del Mar conference Center, a 6,000 sq. ft. ballroom with nearly 2000 sq. ft. of pre-function area and outdoor terrace, and a Championship Golf Course. Less than an hour from San Juan, the Embassy Suites Dorado Del Mar Beach & Golf Resort offers 9500 sq. ft. of meeting space, 174 suites, and wireless high speed Internet access. Two more hotels are slated to open in the San Juan area in The Condado Vanderbilt Hotel, a 300-room luxury hotel located in the city s Condado district, will offer 20,000 sq. ft. of meeting space. The 474-room Renaissance La Concha Hotel & Casino will include 15,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, three restaurants and an oceanfront fitness center. Heading South The 153-room Hilton Ponce Golf & Casino Resort overlooks the Caribbean on the island s south central shore, approximately 70 miles from the airport. Amenities include 27 holes of golf and one of the largest casinos on the island. Nearby Ponce, which is Puerto Rico s second largest city, is known for its magnificent examples of neoclassical architecture. Down on Vieques Island, off the southeastern coast of Puerto Rico, Starwood Hotels & Resorts is spending $15 million to transform the former Martineau Bay Resort into the first W Hotel on the island. Renovations are scheduled to be completed in the fall of Help is There for the Asking Viscasillas explained how the Bureau works with planners to make their jobs easier. Meeting planners should look at the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau as their partner in planning, promoting and managing a successful event in Puerto Rico. We offer comprehensive services such as assisting with RFPs, coordinating and escorting site inspections and serving as a liaison to our more than 600 members serving the meeting market. We also offer assistance with housing using the latest in software technology, and can offer meeting organizers assistance with promotional items including brochures, videos and other presentation materials, as well as securing on-site convention staff. The Bureau also offers an online e- store at its web site that makes it easy for planners to shop for locally-themed items that range from books, postcards, CDs and videos to handcrafts and food items that can be used as promotional items or room gifts. Unlocking the Secret As a meeting destination, Puerto Rico offers the best of both worlds. On one hand, it offers an exotic tropical setting rich in history and attractions. On the other hand, it has the advantage of being located on U.S. soil, which eliminates the challenges of dealing with foreign languages or currency. It s a very exciting destination. It has a lot to offer, Greenberg said. Parks agrees. There are some very nice, hidden experiences to be had there, and it s easy for planners. It s a huge destination that hasn t been tapped. Overall, I think it s the best kept secret. C&IT Tropical breezes abound as visitors stroll along narrow cobblestone streets, among colorful colonial buildings, old fortresses overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, museums, art galleries, and shops in legendary Old San Juan. Photo credit: Puerto Rico Convention Bureau 54 JANUARY 2006 CORPORATE & INCENTIVE TRAVEL