Puerto Rico's New Message After Hurricane Maria

Puerto Rico's New Message After Hurricane Maria
Puerto Rico's New Message After Hurricane Maria

Video: Puerto Rico's New Message After Hurricane Maria

Video: Puerto Rico's New Message After Hurricane Maria
Video: Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria: 'We're American, too, why don't they help?' 2024, March
Anonim

With the first anniversary of Hurricane Maria passing through Puerto Rico near and the attention that the images of the devastation will have again, Discover Puerto Rico announced an initiative that invites visitors and the local and international media to join to share and review images of the recovery of the Island.

According to Discover Puerto Rico CEO Brad Dean, six months after Hurricane Maria, more than 50% of travelers said negative news coverage impacted their vision of Puerto Rico as a tourist destination. Dean also explained that local members of the tourism industry and the community created a space on social networks under the hashtag #CoverTheProgress, urging all audiences to share their experiences on the recovery of Puerto Rico.

We want to change the negative view of the state of the Island as the first anniversary of Hurricane Maria approaches. Puerto Rico has been open to tourism since last December and the local tourism industry has worked hard for the past year to achieve a solid recovery. We have a lot to celebrate and we don't want the first anniversary to put all this work behind us,”said Dean. “We are clear that there are still some remote areas of the Island in the process of recovery, but we are asking that we celebrate the achievements of the industry and the communities to enhance the vitality of our Island as a tourist destination. Sharing the milestones of local industry and the communities that have worked hard to achieve them is essential. We are taking advantage of this moment to invite all audiences to help us highlight the recovery of tourism because tourism contributes vitally to the recovery of our economy.”

To document the progress of the recovery, Discover Puerto Rico made a video of the Punta Santiago community in Humacao; one of the most devastated sectors of the Island. This community became known worldwide for a viral image, where they asked for help with the letters of "SOS". Documenting the recovery, the community, along with the area's local industry, recreated the aerial image of how they are today, hoping that it will also go viral.

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This time the message reads "Welcome #CoverTheProgress".

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