Puerto Rico Tourism Company has launched a national marketing campaign enticing travellers to learn to salsa on the eastern Caribbean island. Angie Sloan, regional director for PRTC in the UK, said: “The destination has been opened up significantly to travellers from the UK since the launch of British Airway’s direct flight from London Gatwick and this campaign will showcase the destination as one that invites a mix of Latin, Caribbean and American cultures, particularly in Old San Juan, reborn in recent years as one of North America’s hottest urban destinations and the place to experience Puerto Rican salsa.”

To launch its Puerto Rican Salsa season, the eastern Caribbean Island of Puerto Rico will be inviting agents to join in the action with a party at Floridita in London’s west end. The event will launch a national advertising campaign by the tourism authority, which is looking to raise the profile of Puerto Rico to the UK market.

US Commerce Secretary John Bryson today appointed Mario González-Lafuente, Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC), to the Travel and Tourism Advisory Board (TTAB) of the US Department of Commerce, as part of a strategy to promote the United States.

Puerto Rico is bidding to secure a larger slice of the UK’s Caribbean travel market over the next 12 months with a $1 billion in hotel developments set to deliver 15,000 bed spaces on the island during 2012.

Newly-released figures from the Puerto Rico Tourism Company have revealed a steady increase in the number of visitors to the Caribbean destination, effectively demonstrating the success a new marketing campaign. First quarter 2011 hotel occupancy rates show a four percent increase over 2010, and Puerto Rico tourism officials anticipate a three-to-four percent rise in total tourism visits this year.

The Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC) has launched an on-line reservation system offering in-depth information for lodging and flight options specifically for the island.